Deliver Us From Evil
by SnowPrincess88
Summary: Based on the 70s show. Frank and Joe are on assignment in Switzerland to protect a U.S. Senator's daughter against a mysterious stalker. Along the way, they become entangled in a second mystery involving missing artifacts from a nearby monastery. The danger ratchets up, and an unexpected twist in their first case leaves Frank and Joe wondering if they'll actually make it home alive
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story is based on the 70s TV show, and would be considered a "crossover" episode. I've taken two characters from the Season 3 episode, "Scorpion's Sting", but that's where the similarity ends. I thought the character of Kathy Martin was an interesting one, and I wanted to do more with her than the show did. The original episode (with a completely different plotline from my story) can be found on the web's biggest video site. If there are any "Days of Our Lives" fans, MacDonald Carey plays Senator John Martin in this episode. This story follows my previous four. You can catch onto what is happening without reading them, but if you're interested in any backstory, that's where you'll find it. My self-indulgent series begins with Season 3 of the show, since I could never swallow the Justice Department hiring two teenagers as special agents. I have also aged Frank and Joe to 23 and 22, respectively. As per my other stories, this one is also completely written and I will post a new chapter every other day. Thanks to my beta, Kenna, for all her great suggestions, patience, and help! Oh, and my sincere apologies to Glen Larson Productions and Universal Studios. The TV show belongs to them. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1

"It doesn't sound like they're planning on killing her."

"Well, that's comforting." Senator John Martin stormed across his Washington, D. C. office and tossed a piece of paper onto the large mahogany desk that dominated the room. He glared at his assistant. Did Louis really think he was going to take any threat against his daughter lightly?

Louis Remington perched himself on the edge of the senator's desk and reached for the paper. "I didn't mean that the way it came out. I only meant that this note is rather vague and abstract. Not like someone with a deliberate plan for violence."

Senator Martin turned to the large window behind his desk and gazed outside. Tourists were milling about on the street, taking photographs of the Capitol Building and each other, while enjoying the unusually mild January weather.

"'How much does your daughter mean to you? Shall we play a little game to find out?' That doesn't sound ominous to you?"

Louis shrugged. "It sounds somewhat ominous. It doesn't sound like they're going to kill her."

"I don't want them doing anything to her. I don't want these goons within five hundred miles of her."

"All I'm saying is that with government agents guarding her, she should be fine." Louis stood and set the note back on the desk. "Actually, it sounds like a joke to me. You get letters like this from crackpots all the time and you ignore them. Every time there's a controversial vote in the chamber, you get at least a dozen threats a day."

"I won't take a chance where Kathy is concerned," the senator said firmly. "Get her on the phone for me."

Louis sighed. "It'll take a few minutes."

"Buzz me when she's on the line."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy Martin lay across her bed in a dorm at _Miss Parker's School for Girls_, leafing through her scrapbook. She'd just finished pasting in another newspaper article of her latest crush. She thought this one had a particularly nice photo accompanying it. He was so good looking. That blond hair, those gorgeous eyes.

Someday she wanted to meet him. Maybe her father could arrange it. He had a lot of power as a U.S. Senator. Surely there was some kind of award he could present to Joe Hardy. And his brother. He was pretty cute, too, but it was Joe she had her heart set on.

Kathy placed the bottle of rubber cement on her night table with a satisfied smile as the pink princess phone next to her jangled. She leaned over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Kathy, this is Louis. Hold for your father, please."

She rolled her eyes and switched the receiver to her other hand as she fell back on her pillow.

"Kathy?" John Martin's voice boomed over the phone.

"Hi, Daddy," she said with forced cheerfulness.

"How are you, pumpkin? Studying hard?"

"Always, Daddy. What's up?"

"Um, listen, Kathy...I'm going to have to send some government agents with you on your ski trip."

"What?" Kathy sat up in a flash of anger. Not those stupid agents. She'd never have any fun if they were tailing her. Every last one of them was a huge blabbermouth who constantly felt the need to tattle to her father about everything she did. "No, Daddy. Why?"

"Well, honey, I've gotten some more notes here at the office, and I need to make sure you're safe."

"Oh, Daddy, puh-lease. You get stuff like that all the time. Nothing ever happens."

"Yes, well I can't afford to take those kinds of chances with you, dear," her father insisted. "So you'll have the agents with you, or you won't go on the trip."

Kathy shifted her position and glanced at the scrapbook out of the corner of her eye. She smiled as an idea came to her. "Um, Daddy? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course, sweetheart. What is it?"

She turned to a page with a photo of Joe Hardy staring back at her. "How about if you hire some private detectives instead? Ones who are closer to my own age."

"Darling, there aren't any competent detectives I know of who are close to your age."

"Yes, there are, Daddy," Kathy said. "Frank and Joe Hardy from Bayport. And they won't stick out like sore thumbs the way those dumb agents do."

Senator Martin paused. "I'll look into it, Kathy. But no promises."

Kathy's lips tightened into a thin line. "If you send those feds along, I promise I will lose them every single chance I get."

OOOoooOOO

"Pretty countryside," Frank Hardy commented as the train crested the top of a hill and began its descent into the snow covered Swiss valley.

"Yeah," his brother Joe agreed, absently slapping his railway ticket repeatedly against his thigh.

Frank observed him for a moment. "Problem?"

Joe shook his head and grinned as he leaned forward. "No. What's in the dossier?"

Frank opened the notebook he'd been given by their contact in the Geneva airport as he moved into the seat next to Joe.

"Looks like some vague threatening notes against Senator Martin's daughter. She's received a few at her boarding school and he's received some at his D.C. office."

"Why does he think something might happen here in Switzerland?"

"Not sure that he does." Frank leafed through more papers. "He's just being a cautious father. He also thought with you and I being near his daughter's age, we'd blend in better with her and her friends."

"How old is she, exactly?"

"Um, looks like she just turned eighteen. She's a senior in high school."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Swell."

Frank chuckled. "Oh, and apparently, you're playing the part of her boyfriend."

"What?" Joe grabbed the dossier. "You're kidding me?"

"Read it and weep." Frank grinned. He looked at the photo of the blonde haired, blue eyed girl accompanying the written information. "Well, at least she's not ugly."

Joe stared at him. "In case you've forgotten, I already have a girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah, Emily something...right?" Frank teased.

"That would be her." Joe closed the notebook. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Sure you can. Just pretend she's Emily."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy skipped between the suitcase on her bed and the closet in the lavish hotel suite she was sharing with her best friends, Lauren Rich and Tammy Nelson. She hung up her favorite evening gown, then turned to the girls. "I can't wait for you to meet Joe. You'll fall in love with him."

"I want to know where you've been hiding him all this time," Lauren said. "You've never even mentioned him before now."

Kathy gave her a little smile. "That's because I wanted to keep him all to myself."

"He really must be something then." Tammy shut the dresser drawer. "Does he have any friends?"

"He has a brother, but he's too old for you," Kathy teased. "He's almost twenty-four."

"That's not too old for me," Tammy retorted. "I'll be eighteen in a couple of months."

"Yeah, but right now you're just jail bait." Kathy stuck out her tongue, then ducked as Tammy tossed a hairbrush at her.

OOOoooOOO

Joe stood with Frank in the lobby of the Hotel Saint Sylvie waiting to check in. The interior was as quaint as the exterior, reflecting the charm of the Swiss countryside and the old Benedictine monastery which sat opposite the hotel. The village was isolated and very exclusive. It was the type of place wealthy foreigners liked to ski in the winter and hike in the summer.

"This is nice," Joe said. "A little remote, but nice."

"I guess the rich like it that way." Frank grinned. "Then they don't have to hobnob with all the riff-raff at the other major resort towns in the Alps."

"Mr. Hardy?" the reservations clerk called.

Both Frank and Joe approached the desk.

"Most of your party has already arrived," the clerk explained, handing both brothers their room keys. "You will be in the Alpine suite. Max will take your bags." He gestured and a bellhop was immediately at their side.

"Thank you," Frank replied, turning from the desk.

"Joe!" a female voice squealed from the top of a staircase leading down into the lobby.

Joe looked up to see Kathy Martin from the dossier photo, flanked by two other teen girls, one a sandy blonde and one a brunette. Kathy dashed down the stairs and flung her arms around Joe's neck, catching him completely off guard. He put his hands on her waist to steady himself.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here, honey." Kathy hugged him tightly.

"Um, yeah, me too," Joe replied.

He stared over the girl's shoulder at Frank, whose head was bent down in silent laughter. Joe would get him for that later.

"Lauren, Tammy, this is Joe." Kathy gestured for her friends to come closer.

"Hi, Joe," Lauren said, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled weakly. "Hi, girls."

"So, where did you two meet?" Tammy demanded. "Since Kathy's been keeping you a secret, we don't know anything about you."

Joe looked down at Kathy thinking he didn't want to be a part of this little dog and pony show any longer. "Why don't you tell them? I'm going to go to the room to get settled. It's been a long trip." He turned his head, and gave Frank a hard stare.

Frank cleared his throat. "Kathy, why don't you come with us for a minute?"

"Of course." She smiled at her girlfriends. "Give us a little bit of alone time, okay? I'll meet you in our room later." She ran back to Joe and linked her arm through his, as Joe headed toward the elevator with Frank.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thank you so much, Max2013, Caranath, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Love and Laugh, Vinsmouse, Leya, and Manchu for your reviews! They are very much appreciated! And Love and Laugh and Manchu, I think this chapter will answer your questions. LOL

Chapter 2

Nancy Drew stepped through the front door of her home, with a gust of wind from the Chicago winter pushing her from behind. She looked up to see her father entering the living room from his study. He paused and smiled as she and her best friend, Bess Marvin, began tossing off their heavy overcoats, scarves and mittens after a long day of scouring the malls for bargains.

"Miserable outside, isn't it?" Carson Drew commented.

"Yes, but the sales were fabulous." Bess smiled as she held up two large shopping bags. "So it was worth it."

Carson chuckled. "I would have been disappointed if you'd said anything else, Bess."

"What's up, Dad?" Nancy demanded, recognizing the look in his eye. The one that told her she was about to be given a new case to work on.

"Funny you should ask." He sat down in a nearby wing chair. "I've just had a phone call from an old friend of mine, Father Bertrand."

"I don't recall that name." She eased herself onto the sofa opposite him, and folded her legs underneath her.

"Well, I knew him many years ago from some legal work I was doing for the Catholic church in Europe."

"Sounds interesting. Is that why he's calling you now?"

"No, this time it's something entirely different. Something I thought you might be interested in, Nancy."

"Uh oh," Bess said with a sigh. "I smell a mystery."

"Yes, but one that involves a centuries old monastery in Switzerland," Carson said, looking at Nancy. "And a ski resort for the rich and famous," he added, turning to Bess.

"You've got my attention," Bess said, coming around to sit next to Nancy on the sofa.

"Well, it seems that the monastery has had something very valuable stolen from them, and Father Bertrand is afraid this might only be the beginning," Carson explained.

"Why?" Nancy spoke up. "What did they have stolen? And why did he call you about it?"

It had been two weeks since Nancy's last case, which had turned out to be nothing more than doing surveillance work to find out if the defendant in a divorce case was, in fact, cheating on his wife. He was. Those types of cases bored Nancy to tears. But what her father was talking about actually sounded interesting.

Carson held up his hands and laughed. "One question at a time, please."

"And just exactly which rich and famous people frequent this ski resort?" Bess added.

Nancy shot her a look. Celebrities were not on her agenda, and she didn't want her dad distracted by Bess's "Hollywood stalker" tendencies. "Tell me more about what the priest wanted, Dad."

"Okay." Carson put on a pair of eyeglasses and flipped through a legal pad he was holding. "Father Bertrand is worried, because the cathedral, which is part of the monastery complex, is full of valuable art and relics. Apparently last week, an elaborate monstrance was stolen from behind the locked altar gate. Its worth is inestimable, and he feels that whoever took it knew exactly what they were after."

"So, it had to be someone who knew it was there, and how they could get their hands on it," Nancy said, her mind already formulating theories as to whom the most likely suspect could be.

Carson nodded. "Because of that, Father Bertrand is afraid that this might only be the beginning. The monastery and the cathedral are open to the public. People are very devoted to some of the relics there and make pilgrimages to visit."

"So anyone could have access to it, then?" Nancy asked.

"Well, not anyone could have stolen it, but certainly anyone could have had access to the building itself."

"Um, what exactly is a monstrance?" Bess interrupted.

"It's used in the Catholic church to display the consecrated communion wafer," Nancy explained. She was happy to see that the world religions class she'd taken during her last semester in college was finally paying off.

"Oh," Bess said. "Is it big?"

"This one was fairly large and ornate, maybe two feet tall," Carson said. "It was gold and encrusted with lots of valuable gems."

"Gold and gems...two of my favorite things," Bess said with a grin.

"So why did Father Bertrand call you, Dad?" Nancy asked.

"He doesn't want any publicity concerning the crime. It wouldn't be good for the church or for tourism," Carson explained. "He thought I might recommend someone who could help him, and who could be discreet about it."

Nancy smiled. "Am I going to Switzerland?"

Carson nodded. "And Bess, too, if she'd like."

"Oooh, yes!" Bess squealed. "I need to go back to the mall though. I have to buy some ski-bunny ensembles."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Hang on, Bess." She turned to her father. "When did you want us to leave?"

"As soon as possible," Carson said. "How about the day after tomorrow?"

Nancy nodded as she stood, then paused for a moment. "Dad, do you think you could get three tickets to Switzerland?"

"Three?" Carson looked surprised. "I thought you said George was out of town. And isn't Frank on a case?"

"Yes. I was thinking of Emily Clark."

"Emily?" Carson seemed puzzled, then smiled. "Oh, she's Joe's girlfriend, isn't she?"

"Yes, and she's majoring in art history and she speaks fluent French," Nancy said. "She might come in handy."

"Okay," Carson agreed. "Three tickets it is."

"Thanks, Dad." Nancy hugged her father. "I'll call her right now."

OOOoooOOO

Joe unlocked the door to the Alpine suite and gazed around the spacious living room. Nice. There were two separate seating areas, one in front of a stone fireplace and one grouped near a television set, as well as a full-size bar with a large dining table off to the side.

"You two have the bedroom just past the fireplace," Kathy gestured, as she breezed through the doorway.

"Thanks," Frank said with a smile, stepping up beside his brother.

"Listen, Joe, I'm sorry about the lobby." Kathy turned to him, and Joe noticed her brow was furrowed and she was biting her lower lip. "It's just that my friends were with me, and I already told them you were coming and that you were my boyfriend. I thought it would look weird if you didn't even recognize me."

"That's all right," Joe assured her. "You just caught me off guard."

"Good." Kathy's features relaxed with relief.

"Frank and Joe Hardy?" asked a middle-aged woman as she entered the living area from one of the bedrooms. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her navy blue suit was severe and business-like. Joe thought she looked like a prison matron.

"Yes, we're the Hardys," Frank said.

"Simone Broussard," she introduced herself, shaking their hands. "I'm Kathy's guardian."

"Guardian?" Joe was surprised. The dossier hadn't mentioned anything about Kathy having a guardian.

"Yes, Kathy's father travels frequently and isn't able to be with her often, so I fill in for him."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Not that I need a guardian now that I'm eighteen."

"Your father thinks you still need supervision, and in case you've forgotten, he's paying your bills."

Kathy plopped herself down on a nearby sofa. "How could I possibly forget when you're always reminding me?"

Simone ignored her. "Now, if you boys will put your things in that bedroom, I think it will be suitable. The girls are in the room next to yours, and I am in the room just opposite of theirs." She turned to go then paused. "Oh, and Louis is here, as well. Or he will be."

A groan was heard from Kathy.

"He will sleep on the sofa," Simone said in a firm tone.

"Who's Louis?" Joe asked after Simone left the room.

"He's my father's assistant," Kathy said.

Joe walked over to the chair opposite the couch and sat down. "I take it you don't like him?"

"Let's just say we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things."

Joe nodded. "So what do you think about the notes you've been receiving?"

Kathy shrugged. "I don't think they're anything to get all worked up about. My dad gets stuff like this all the time. So what? It never amounts to anything. He's over-reacting."

Frank took a seat on the couch next to Kathy. "Well, I think he's concerned because these notes have mentioned you specifically."

Kathy shook her head as she looked at Frank and Joe. "I'm not worried. And I'm sorry you were dragged here to follow me around for two weeks."

"We've been dragged to worse places," Frank said with a chuckle.

"And we're sorry you're going to have to put up with us trailing you all the time," Joe offered.

Kathy smiled at him. "I don't think that's going to be too much of a hardship."

OOOoooOOO

"More cookies?" Emily Clark's four year old niece, Lizzie, held the plate out to her.

"No thanks, sweetie, I'm full." Emily smiled down at the brown haired little beauty extending a pink plastic plate stacked high with chocolate chip cookies toward her. Lizzie was a sweetheart, but after four cookies, Emily couldn't possibly eat one more bite. Not to mention, this was the second tea party of the day.

"Where's Joe?" Lizzie demanded.

"He's working, honey," Emily explained. "He won't be here for a little while."

"I like Joe better. He eats more cookies."

Emily laughed and pulled her niece in for a hug. The little girl adored Joe. His charm with women apparently extended all the way down to the preschool age, because Lizzie was totally smitten. "I'm sure he does."

Emily's older sister, Sarah, wandered into the living room of their parents' house, holding her six month old son. "Has she worn you out yet?"

"No." Emily smiled. "I'm afraid I'm disappointing her though. I don't have Joe's appetite for cookies."

"Not many people do," Sarah said dryly.

"True," Emily said with a smile, as she stood and took the baby, cuddling him close to her.

"What's he off doing again?" Sarah asked.

Emily shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I guess it's a secret. Some sort of government thing."

"Wow, sounds dangerous." Sarah handed her the baby's pacifier as she knelt down to help Lizzie with her tea party.

Emily tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hated to think Joe might be in danger. "I know. I worry about him all the time."

Sarah smiled at her. "You should be with an accountant, then."

Emily made a face. "No, thanks. That's a little _too_ boring for me."

"Are you saying my husband is boring?" Sarah asked in mock indignation.

Before she could answer her, the telephone rang. Emily's mother called to her from the kitchen. "Emily, sweetheart, the phone's for you. It's Nancy."

"Nancy? Isn't she your future sister-in-law?" Sarah teased as Emily handed back the baby.

"Sure is." Emily grinned as she headed into the kitchen.

OOOoooOOO

"Does she have to hang on me like that all the time?" Joe asked Frank as they unpacked their suitcases in the hotel suite later that afternoon.

Joe noticed that Kathy seemed to be taking her role as his girlfriend very seriously…especially after her friends had returned to the suite. He felt like he was a prize on display in a trophy cabinet.

Frank chuckled. "I think she's planning on it."

Joe shook his head. "It hasn't even been three hours and she's already getting on my nerves."

"Joe, she's young…she's still in high school." Frank hung a suit in the closet. "I think she'll calm down. She's showing you off to her friends right now."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I can't very well do any investigating if I'm busy being her arm candy."

Frank snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, bro. I'm sure she'll get bored with you in a few days."

"Here's hoping," Joe said, moving his empty suitcase to the closet.

"Joe? Frank?" Simone's voice sounded on the other side of the door.

"Yeah, come on in," Frank called out.

Simone opened the door and Joe immediately noticed her wide eyed stare. Something had frightened her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This," she replied, holding an envelope by the corner as though it might bite her. "It arrived a few moments ago."

Frank stepped over to her and carefully slipped out a note card. "You can't hide from me, Kathy." He turned the envelope over and looked at the cancellation mark. "This was mailed from Geneva, on Wednesday."

"Where did you get this?" Joe demanded.

"The desk clerk brought it up here. He said it arrived in the afternoon mail."

"Did Kathy open it?" Frank asked.

"Yes, and she's terribly upset." Simone sighed. "I think she really believed these threats were nothing but worry on her father's part. Now I think she's genuinely frightened."

Joe and Frank walked with Simone into the living room where Kathy was standing with her friends.

"Oh, Joe," she cried, running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck.

Joe patted her gently on the back. "It's going to be okay, Kathy. I promise. Frank and I are going to find out who's responsible."

She nodded and sniffled.

Frank looked at Simone. "My brother and I are going to go talk to the desk clerk and see what we can find out."

Joe looked down at Kathy. "You stay right here with your friends and don't open the door for anyone until we get back, okay?"

OOOoooOOO

Kathy retreated to her bedroom with her girlfriends after Frank and Joe left the suite. She didn't want to appear too shaken by the note. Her friends were here for a vacation, after all. If she freaked out too much, it would ruin everything. And she definitely did not want her father telling her she needed to go home. She was going to stay calm about all of it.

"Wow, Kath, you're right. Joe is really hot!" Tammy said, flopping down on her bed.

Kathy gave her roommate a dimpled smile, grateful for the distraction. She thought Joe was even better looking in person than in the newspaper articles she'd seen. But she wasn't going to let her friends in on that little bit of information either. "I know. He's amazing."

"Frank's just as cute," Lauren said. "I'm going to try super hard to get him interested in me."

"Are you sure he doesn't have another brother?" Tammy propped herself up on elbow and gave Kathy a pleading look.

Kathy laughed. "He doesn't." She grabbed a bottle of nail polish, opened it, and began painting one of her toes. "I only wish that whoever is writing these awful notes would stop it so we could have a normal vacation. Joe's so protective, he's going to be spending all of his time trying to figure out who wants to hurt me."

Lauren sighed, as she picked up a brush and started running it through her hair. "I hope someday I have a boyfriend who's that wonderful."

"You can if you snag Frank," Tammy said with a giggle.

Kathy smiled. In spite of the threatening notes, she was planning on this being a wonderful vacation. Especially since she now had Joe Hardy glued to her side 24/7. He would soon realize they were meant to be a couple…and not just for pretend.

OOOoooOOO

Joe turned away from the reservations desk, disappointed. "Okay, so the note really did arrive with the regular mail, nothing special."

"Right," Frank plopped down in one of the large, over-stuffed, lobby chairs. "So if it was mailed a couple of days ago..."

"It means that whoever is behind this knew Kathy was coming here and where she would be staying," Joe finished.

"There's our suspect list," Frank said.

Joe nodded. "Let's start by asking Kathy who knew about this vacation. Then we'll need to find out if those people told anyone else."

"Hopefully the list will have less than fifty people on it," Frank joked.

"Yeah."

Joe stared at the flames dancing in the lobby fireplace. Something told him this case was going to involve a lot more than simply being a bodyguard. This case was going to be trouble. He could feel it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you so much for taking time to review, Caranath, Leya, Max2013, Catlover1033, I Love Mom, Stork Hardy, Kenna, Jackie, Guest, Love and Laugh, Vinsmouse and Manchu! You guys rock! And Guest, I won't let the relationships take over, but my stories are definitely a combo of romance and mystery. In some chapters, romance will be in the forefront, but I promise I'll always get back to the mystery. And as an FYI to all, the monastery in this story is based on the Einsiedeln cathedral and monastery in Zurich. I've changed the location and some details (it is not meant to be Einsiedeln in this story), but if you google "Einsiedeln Abbey", and click "images", you can see what it looks like (no words I write could adequately describe it). It's absolutely beautiful and a must visit if you're ever in Switzerland! Thanks again to those who are reading!

Chapter 3

Nancy heard the sound of suitcase wheels bouncing rapidly along the tile floor of the airport corridor just behind her.

"Wait up!" Bess called.

Nancy turned to see her best friend dragging her suitcase with one hand, and trying to balance her purse and another large carry-on in the other.

"They're not going to let you take that thing on the plane, you know," Nancy said. "It's as big as a bus."

"It fits in the overhead. I swear it." Bess huffed to catch up with her.

"The only reason you got away with it on the flight from Chicago was because you were holding up half the passengers trying to board behind us." Nancy paused, looking at the bank of monitors on the wall near her. "Okay, we're at Gate D-25."

"Please tell me that's close."

"Um, afraid not." Nancy smiled. "It's all the way at the other end of the concourse."

Bess rolled her eyes and readjusted her shoulder bag. "Naturally."

Nancy began walking then stopped again. "Oh, hey, there's Emily."

"Where?"

Nancy knew Bess was eager to get a look at the girl who'd managed to capture Joe Hardy's heart.

"Right there." Nancy pointed to a slim brunette in jeans, a white sweater, and high-heeled boots, flipping through magazines at the airport newsstand.

"Oh, you mean the exceptionally gorgeous one?"

"Yeah," Nancy said with a laugh.

"It figures." Bess readjusted the carry-on bag on her shoulder and sighed. "Come on, you might as well introduce me."

OOOoooOOO

"Okay, so besides your girlfriends at school, who else knew you were coming here for winter break?" Joe asked Kathy.

He watched as she bit her lip and scooted closer to him on the couch, peering at the list he was writing. He suspected that was just a ruse to cover up the fact that she was now almost in his lap. This was going to be a very long case.

"Well, um, my dad of course, and whoever he might have mentioned it to on his staff."

"Well, let's hope that wasn't too many people," Frank said from his position at the bar. He poured himself a soft drink as Simone stepped into the room.

"Simone?" Kathy called out. "How many people did Dad mention this trip to?"

Simone shook her head. "In the household? I'm not sure. Our travel plans aren't kept secret, but I don't know who bothered to take note of them. Why?"

"The latest threat came here, to the hotel," Joe explained. "That means whoever sent it had to know that Kathy was going to be here."

Simone nodded as she breezed across the living room toward her bedroom. "Well, Louis was in the D.C. office with the senator. He could probably let you know who was informed of it there."

Joe tapped his pen on the legal pad. "Yeah."

This was going to be harder than he thought. Who knows how many people might have heard about this trip. It didn't sound like they'd been all that discreet about it.

Kathy grabbed onto his arm. "I'm kind of hungry. How about we head to the restaurant for some dinner?"

Joe looked sideways at her. "Yeah, sure, but I think we'd better make a reservation with a party as large as ours."

Kathy pouted. "I was thinking of just you and me. You_ are_ supposed to be my boyfriend, you know. Don't you think it'll look suspicious if we don't spend time alone together?"

"Oh, go on, Joe," Frank called out. "I'll get the names from Louis."

"Um, yeah, okay. Let me get my wallet." Joe stood and walked past his brother, who was grinning broadly. An overwhelming urge to wipe the smile right off his face washed over Joe. "Frank?" he gestured, pointing to the room they were sharing.

Joe waited as his brother grabbed his drink and headed across the living room. As soon as he entered the bedroom, Joe shut the door and turned on him. "What's the big idea sticking me with her like that?"

The grin hadn't left Frank's face. "It _is_ your job, Joe. I thought maybe you could question her as well as check out who might be watching her. We'd naturally attract attention if we all went together because there would be so many of us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Joe looked up at his brother. "I'm still going to get you for this though."

Frank chuckled as Joe turned to walk back to the living room. "Enjoy your date, bro."

OOOoooOOO

"Ohhhhh," Nancy breathed as she entered the basilica centered between two wings of the Benedictine monastery.

She stopped short, and joined Emily and Bess, who were already gazing up at the Baroque interior. The walls were painted a gleaming white, highlighted with gorgeous pastels. The ceiling was covered with murals and gold everywhere she looked. And every surface that wasn't painted, was shaped, carved and gilded. Little cherubs peeked down from every corner and crevice of the building.

"It is a feast for the eyes, is it not?"

Nancy turned to see a priest approaching them.

"It's exquisite," Nancy said. "Everything is so amazingly intricate and yet delicate at the same time."

"I have lived here for over thirty years, and it never fails to take my breath away every time I enter this cathedral." He extended his hand. "I am Father Bertrand."

"And I'm Nancy Drew, Carson's daughter."

A smile spread across the priest's face. "Ah, wonderful. I'm so delighted you've arrived." He looked to Bess and Emily. "And these are your friends?"

"Yes, Bess Marvin and Emily Clark."

Father Bertrand shook their hands as well.

"What can you tell us about your missing monstrance?" Nancy asked.

The priest glanced around. "Let's go to my office. I will explain it to you in private, then we can return here and I will show you where this terrible crime took place."

Nancy nodded as Father Bertrand led them through a side door and into the main part of the monastery.

OOOoooOOO

Joe stared at the menu.

Kathy stared at him.

He squirmed uncomfortably and glanced up at her. "See anything you like?"

"Yeah."

"I meant on the menu." Joe folded his and set it on the table.

She continued to stare at him. "You mean you're not on the menu?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Joe picked up his water glass and took a sip. This was going to be a tedious dinner. And he was planning on spending it plotting Frank's untimely demise. Because when he got back to the suite, he knew how much his brother was going to enjoy giving him a hard time about this "date".

Kathy sighed. "You're stubborn, Joe Hardy."

"I'm here to work."

She tossed her menu on the table. "I'll have the chicken in cream sauce."

Joe nodded as he glanced around the room for a waiter. He couldn't get this evening over fast enough.

"Don't you like to have fun?"

He turned back to look at her. "Kathy, I'm one of the most fun guys on the planet, but right now I'm a little preoccupied with trying to find out who's stalking you."

She rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you even concerned about this?" Joe thought she seemed pretty blasé for someone whose life was being threatened. Not usually the way clients acted when they were being stalked, in his experience.

"Joe, my dad's over-reacting. He always does." She sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "If I worried half as much as he did, I'd never go anywhere or do anything."

The waiter approached their table. "She'll have the chicken in cream sauce and I'd like a steak. Medium rare," Joe said with a smile. _And hurry._

The waiter nodded and gathered up their menus. As he walked away, Joe looked at Kathy.

"I think your father has reason to be concerned this time, don't you?"

Kathy shrugged. "I can't get worked up about it. If I did, it would drive me crazy." She twisted her napkin as she stared at her hands. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

_So she is afraid. She's just trying to hide it_. Joe forced himself to sound upbeat. "Sure. What would you like to talk about?"

She looked up at him with a grateful smile. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me about you and your brother? Rumor has it you've done lots of exciting things."

"Don't believe everything you hear," he said with a grin.

"Then why don't you set me straight?"

Joe settled back in his chair. "Okay, but remember, you asked."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy, Bess, and Emily were seated in the office of the priest, within the walls of the monastery.

"This place is huge," Bess commented. "I've only ever visited one other monastery, but it was small. This is...amazing."

Father Bertrand smiled at her. "Yes, it is. We are a large community and we minister to many. We also have hundreds of pilgrims arriving twice a year to honor our Lady. We are a very busy order."

Nancy shifted in her chair, impatient to get started on the case. "Can you tell us about the monstrance now, Father?"

"Yes, of course." He sighed and leaned forward. "It is one of our most precious artifacts. That and the statue of our Lady. She was fashioned sometime around the year eleven hundred, we believe, after the appearance of our Lady to Father Dominic in France, who then began building a chapel in her honor. Legend has it that the monstrance was sent down from heaven itself, although that has never been confirmed through official church channels. That doesn't matter however to the pilgrims who visit here. In their eyes it is sacred, and that's all that counts."

"So the pilgrims come to see the monstrance?" Nancy asked.

"Their main devotion is to the statue of our Lady," Father Bertrand explained. "Many miracles have been attributed to her."

"Where is this statue?"

"She is enthroned in a chapel within the walls of our cathedral. The chapel is the structure originally built after the initial appearance of our Lady. When this cathedral was constructed, many years later, the chapel was moved here, covered with marble panels, and placed within it."

"Wow," Bess whispered.

Father Bertrand sighed. "Yes, we are very fortunate to have so much history behind our beautiful structures. However, the theft of the monstrance has caused me great distress. The biggest pilgrimage of the year will be upon us in less than a month's time. If the monstrance isn't recovered by then..."

Nancy reached forward and placed her hand over his. "I promise I'll do my best. And my friends will help. Emily is majoring in art history and she speaks French and can read Latin."

Father Bertrand smiled at them. "I know you will do your best. That is all I can ask. Your father is a man of the greatest integrity, Nancy. If he recommends you, I know he is sending me the best person for the job." He turned in his chair and picked up several sheets of paper. "Here are some photos of the monstrance."

"It's gorgeous," Bess squealed. "Look at all those jewels."

"Yes, I suppose its monetary value is quite high," Father Bertrand said. "That is not why we want it returned, however. It inspires faith, and that is most important to us here."

"Of course," Bess murmured.

"You will have access to all areas of the monastery and the cathedral." He handed them each a small piece of paper. "This will allow you to have whatever you need. Simply present it to the brother in charge at the time, and he will give you all that you require."

"Great," Nancy said. "I think I'd like to go back to the cathedral and look around a bit." She turned to Emily. "Maybe you could do some research on the history of the cathedral and the artifacts?"

"We have an excellent library here. It should provide you with any information you might need," the priest told her.

Emily smiled. "Then that's where I'm headed."

OOOoooOOO

Frank looked up from his position on the couch, where he was talking to Lauren and Tammy, when the door to the suite opened. A man who looked to be in his early forties entered. He gave a weary smile as his greeting, and dropped his briefcase just inside the door. As he headed across the room to the bar, he called out, "I'm Louis Remington. You must be one of the Hardy brothers."

"I'm Frank."

"Nice to meet you, Frank," Louis replied. He pulled out a glass, filled it with ice and poured some Scotch over it. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine," Frank said with a smile. This guy looked haggard, irritated, and like he wanted to be anywhere else but where he was. Frank was sure he had an interesting story.

Louis took a healthy sip of his beverage. "Yeah, well I'm not. That train ride along those winding mountain tracks about did me in." He shuddered. "Where's Kathy?"

"She's having dinner in the restaurant with Joe," Lauren replied.

"Good," Louis answered as he crossed the room to retrieve his briefcase. "I'll have a few moments of peace."

"Uh, Mr. Remington, I'd like to ask you a couple questions, if you don't mind," Frank interrupted.

"Shoot."

"Who in the senator's office knew that Kathy would be coming here for her vacation?"

"Um, that would be me and the senator's secretary, Lucille."

"Would she have told anyone else?"

Louis shook his head. "Can't imagine why she would. She's a very busy woman and that would have been an insignificant bit of information to her."

Frank nodded as he made some notes on Joe's legal pad. "Great. Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it." He paused. "Hey, which one of these rooms is supposed to be mine?"

"Simone said you were sleeping on the couch," Tammy piped up.

"The hell I am," Louis muttered. He picked up the phone on the desk in the living room and punched in some numbers. "There are more rooms that can connect to this suite than just the ones we've reserved. I'm getting my own room."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy leaned back in her chair and laughed over Joe's retelling of rescuing Frank from a kidnapper. "I'm so jealous."

"Jealous?" Joe took a sip of his drink. "Why? You have a secret desire to be kidnapped?"

Kathy slapped at his arm. Joe was gorgeous _and_ funny. She couldn't believe her luck in getting her father to agree to hire him as her bodyguard. "No. I just think it sounds like you and your brother have led a really exciting life. Mine is so boring."

"I don't think being a senator's daughter sounds boring."

"Really? Then clearly, you've never been a senator's daughter."

Joe grinned. "You've got me there."

She sighed, knowing Joe couldn't possibly understand. To her father, politics was more important than anything in the world. She suspected even more important than she was. If his actions were any indication, that is. "Public appearances, state dinners, meetings, meetings and more meetings. Yeah, it's a blast."

"You're on a terrific vacation at a resort in Switzerland right now," Joe pointed out. "I'd say that's a nice perk."

"Yeah, and I apparently have some maniac after me who wants to ruin all my fun," Kathy countered, hoping the apprehension she felt wasn't showing. She still wanted to have a great time with Joe on this trip…in spite of the threats.

Joe smiled at her. "Well, cheer up. Maybe Frank will get kidnapped again and you can help me rescue him this time."

Kathy laughed. "It's a deal."

Joe sighed. "Now all I have to do is find someone willing to take Frank off my hands."

"I think Lauren will be happy to do it." She giggled.

"Lauren? Your girlfriend?"

Kathy nodded.

Joe took another sip of his drink. "Um, Kathy, how old is Lauren?"

"Seventeen."

Joe grinned. "Frank's twenty-three. And I'm pretty sure seventeen and twenty-three is illegal in all fifty states."

"We're not in any of those fifty states."

"He's also taken."

"Oh?"

"Very taken."

"That's too bad." Kathy leaned forward. "How about you, Joe? Are you taken?"

Joe chuckled. "What do you think?"

She paused. No, he couldn't be. None of the newspaper articles had ever mentioned a girlfriend. It wasn't something she'd even considered. "I think I don't really want to know the answer to that question."

"Good. Because my private life is just that…private."

Joe stood from the table. "Now, how about we go back upstairs and you can spend some time with your girlfriends while Frank and I get working on this case."

Kathy grabbed his hand and sidled up next to him and they left the restaurant. Maybe Joe was dating someone back in Bayport. So what? By the end of this ski vacation he would only have eyes for her. That she could guarantee.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, Leya, Caranath, Max2013, ILoveMom, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, catlover1033, Vinsmouse, Love and Laugh, Jackie and Manchu! They made me smile! And Catlover and Manchu, don't worry about Em. She's much more savvy now that she's been hanging around Joe for awhile. And in this story, EVERYBODY meets up with trouble. No exceptions. LOL Also for this chapter, if you google "Einsiedeln library" and hit that image button, you'll see what I'm trying to describe here. I want this library in my house! Thanks so much to everyone who is taking time to read.

Chapter 4

"This is beautiful!" Emily breathed.

Nancy smiled at her friend's elated whisper as they entered the abbey library with Bess and Father Bertrand. Joe's girlfriend definitely had a love affair with libraries, and Nancy knew this one would have Emily positively giddy.

Emily gazed around the room with a wide-eyed stare, like a child who'd gotten her first glimpse of her presents on Christmas morning. "Just look at this place!"

The walls of the library were white with large marble columns running down the center, under an arched and painted ceiling. An open second floor balcony surrounded the entire main room, with a curvy wrought iron railing allowing an unobstructed view of the floor to ceiling bookshelves lining the second story walls.

On the main floor, the books were all encased in brightly painted blue bookshelves with glass doors. The floor was a pale hardwood, and tables were situated between the marble columns. Windows along the second floor flooded the room with natural light and sunshine.

"Is every room here just as beautiful as the cathedral?" Bess asked.

"We try to make each of our public rooms reflect a tiny bit of heaven," Father Bertrand said with a smile.

"You've certainly accomplished that," Nancy said. This had to be one of the most beautiful libraries she'd ever seen.

A young, handsome man, dressed in a simple brown robe approached them. Nancy noticed that Bess was quick to give him a dimpled smile. He immediately turned his gaze downward.

Bess tried again. "Hello, my name's Bess Marvin."

The young man brushed his blond hair away from his eyes and looked at Father Bertrand.

"This is Guillaume, ladies. He is currently working in our library," Father Bertrand said. "He is a candidate here in the abbey and will be ready to take his first set of vows in a few more months."

"You mean...he's a monk?"

Bess looked stricken.

Nancy exchanged glances with Emily and bent her head to hide her smile.

"Not quite," Father Bertrand said. "First you must be a candidate for a year to really understand what is expected from the monastic lifestyle and to determine if it is truly what the Lord wants for you."

The priest turned and spoke in French to the young man, who smiled and nodded to the girls.

"His English is a bit weak," Father Bertrand explained. "I believe one of you speaks French?"

Emily raised her hand. "Oui."

Father Bertrand smiled at her. "Wonderful. Then you will not have a communication problem?"

"As long as he can understand my French, we'll be fine." Emily turned to Guillaume. "Pouvez-vous comprendre que je dis?"

Guillaume's smile was wide. "Oui, mademoiselle. Vous parlez français très bien."

Bess nudged Emily in the back.

"What did you say? What did he say?"

"I said, 'What do you think of my blonde friend?' and he said, 'I think she's really hot,'" Emily whispered.

Bess stared at her open mouthed.

Emily giggled. "Just kidding. I only asked if he understood my French."

Nancy chuckled to herself. She was definitely going to give Bess a hard time about this tonight, but right now, she wanted to focus on the case. She touched Emily on the arm. "Maybe you should start researching the monstrance?"

"I'm ready." Emily smiled and moved beside Guillaume.

Father Bertrand patted Guillaume on the back, then turned to Bess and Nancy. "Shall we return to the cathedral?"

The girls nodded and Nancy poked Bess in the ribs as they were leaving the library. "I cannot believe you were hitting on a monk."

"He's cute," Bess hissed.

OOOoooOOO

Joe and Kathy headed toward the lobby filled with guests who'd just ended their day on the slopes. Kathy slipped her hand into Joe's as they left the restaurant. He glanced down at her, but didn't say anything.

"So, did you see anyone?" she whispered.

"See anyone?"

"Anyone who looked suspicious?"

Joe chuckled. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I took note of who was around us, and if I start to see them repeatedly near you while we're here, I'll follow up on it." He looked into her frightened eyes. "Don't worry. It's going to be fine."

Kathy smiled and squeezed his hand. "I know it is. You make me feel very safe, Joe."

_And you make me feel like a specimen under a microscope_, he thought, as he pushed the button for the elevator.

OOOoooOOO

Lauren and Tammy surrounded Frank as he was seated at the cherry wood table in the suite's living room. He smiled inwardly. This promised to be interesting.

"So, tell us about your brother and Kathy," Lauren said as she scooted her chair closer to his.

Frank looked up at both of them. "I thought Kathy would have filled you in on Joe."

Tammy shook her head. "She's kept all of this hidden from us. It's kind of weird. Usually she blabs it all over the place when she has a new boyfriend."

Frank nodded. "Well, she must have had a good reason for not talking about Joe. I'm afraid you'll have to ask her."

"Well then, why don't you tell us about_ you_?" Lauren asked, batting her eyelashes a bit.

Frank chuckled. She wasn't very subtle. Thank goodness Joe wasn't here to see this. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Oh, you don't want to talk about me, I'm boring."

"_I_ don't think so."

"How about if I ask both of you some questions?"

Tammy shrugged. "Okay, if you promise to answer some of ours when you're done."

Frank laughed. These girls were good. Maybe he should think about hiring them at the agency. "I promise."

He reached for a pen and held it poised over a spiral notebook. "When did Kathy start getting these threatening notes?"

Tammy looked toward the ceiling as she bit her bottom lip. "Um, it must have been right before Christmas break."

"Yeah, it was," Lauren said. "Because we were studying for finals. She came bursting into the lounge in our dorm with the first one."

"Do you remember what it said?"

"It was kind of creepy," Lauren recalled. "Something about Kathy becoming this guy's Christmas present."

"Actually, at first we thought it was a joke," Tammy said. "You know, some kind of weird pick-up line or something like that."

"Pick-up line?"

"Yeah, well there's an all boys boarding school not too far from us," she said. "We kind of hang out with some of the guys there, and we just thought it was one of them trying to be funny."

"When did you decide it was something different?"

"When the notes kept coming," Tammy said. "And they kept getting weirder. Meaner. You know what I mean?"

"More threatening?"

"Yeah, and then Kathy started getting phone calls." Lauren leaned in closer to Frank. "Right before we were supposed to leave for break."

Frank was scribbling furiously in his notebook. "Where was she getting these calls?"

"The payphone in the hall," Lauren said. "We finally just stopped answering it."

"What did the person on the other end say?"

"I don't know," Tammy admitted. "Kathy was the only one he ever spoke with. If someone else answered, he'd hang up."

"But you know it was a man?"

Lauren shrugged. "Kathy said it was. She thought he was trying to disguise his voice."

Frank paused. "Did she ever contact the police about this?"

"She called her dad," Tammy said. "He promised he'd take care of it. It's happened before."

"Yeah, and now you're here." Lauren smiled. "I guess you and Joe are how he's taking care of it."

"How nice that Kathy managed to start dating a detective," Tammy said.

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "It's funny how things work out sometimes."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy and Bess were still craning their necks as Father Bertrand led them back through the cathedral.

"I could just sit here and stare all day long," Bess whispered.

"I know, it's incredible."

Nancy saw that Father Bertrand was smiling and waiting for the girls to catch up with him near the main altar. She met his gaze and he gestured to the wrought iron gate in front of them.

"This is always kept locked. When we say Mass, we do it behind this gate. To give the parishioners communion, we exit through these side gates," he said, pointing to a more modern looking façade extending from the original altar gate. "However, when the monstrance was stolen, this main gate was unlocked and left open."

"You never open this?" Nancy asked.

Father Bertrand shook his head. "No, as you can see, the lock is very old. I wasn't even sure it could be opened."

"Then you don't have a key?" Nancy stepped forward to examine the lock.

"I do," Father Bertrand said. "It is on my person at all times. I don't know how the thief could have gotten it. Perhaps he also has one."

"And it was opened with a key? Not broken into?" Bess asked.

"Correct." Father Bertrand guided Nancy and Bess away as a woman knelt in front of the communion rail to pray.

"The lock was not damaged in any way. It was opened with a key." He sighed. "I wasn't aware that any others existed, but apparently, they do."

Nancy's mind was going a mile a minute trying to process all the information she was getting. The monstrance was stolen through the main altar gate, that apparently hadn't been opened in decades. How would the person who stole it manage to have a key for that gate, but not for the common side gates that were constantly in use? That was just weird.

Father Bertrand began walking toward another area of the cathedral. Nancy and Bess paused as a free-standing black marble chapel came into view.

"This is a building inside of a building." Bess sounded perplexed.

"Yes, this is our Lady's chapel," the priest explained. He lowered his voice. "You may return this evening after the cathedral is locked for the night. I will be happy to show you the inside. I don't wish to disturb our visitors at the moment."

Nancy nodded. "That would probably be best." She turned to the priest. "Do you mind if we stay here for awhile? I'd like to look at some of the people who come and go. In case anyone seems...suspicious."

Father Bertrand frowned slightly. "Yes, I understand you would need to do this. It is sad, is it not, this world in which we live?"

"Sometimes it is," Nancy said. "Hopefully, we can help you though, Father."

He smiled at her. "I know you will do your best, Mademoiselle. I will be in my office until it is time to say Mass. You may come and find me there."

OOOoooOOO

Joe stepped into the bedroom he was sharing with Frank, and shut the door behind him. He glared at his brother, who was already in bed leaning against the headboard and reading a novel.

"I figured out the mystery by chapter three," Frank said, gesturing to his book.

"Yeah? Well, how about you work a little harder on figuring out the mystery we're getting paid to solve." Joe sat on the edge of his bed and pulled off his sneakers. "Because I am not going to be able to put up with the senator's daughter for much longer."

"Rough evening?"

"She's the queen of sexual innuendo, Frank." Joe tossed his shoes on the floor. "She's even got me beat. I'm out of clever comeback lines."

Frank snorted. "I find that hard to believe."

"I know. I couldn't believe it either. And I'm exhausted from trying to fight her off. She even tried to kiss me goodnight in front of her friends."

"She sounds like the female Joe Hardy."

Joe scowled at his brother.

"Okay, sorry." Frank chuckled.

Joe crashed across his bed and closed his eyes. "I don't know how I'm going to take another day of this."

Frank set his book down on the nightstand and looked at Joe. "Did you lock the bedroom door?"

"No, why?"

"Just in case your little crush wants to sneak under the covers with you tonight because she had a bad dream."

Joe's eyes shot open and he stared at his brother.

"I'm just saying."

Joe thought Frank's face might split in two from the huge grin covering it. Sighing, he walked over to the door and turned the lock.

"I at least have to be able to escape her at night."

"Oh, Joe," Frank mimicked in a high-pitched, girly voice. "I need you so much. I'm so sca-"

Joe cut him off in mid-sentence with a pillow aimed squarely at Frank's mouth.

Frank smiled broadly as he tossed it back at him.

"It's all that Hardy charm you constantly brag about being gifted with. I told you it would come back and bite you someday."

Joe frowned at his brother while he stripped off his clothes, pounded his pillow, and crawled underneath the covers.

"Shut up, Frank," he said, as he clicked off the light to the sound of his brother's laughter.

OOOoooOOO

After they'd enjoyed a simple, late night dinner of French onion soup, bread, and salad in the monastery's dining hall, Father Bertrand escorted Nancy and the girls back into the cathedral.

"Wow, it's a little spooky here this late at night, isn't it?" Bess asked, her voice echoing throughout the empty building.

"I think it's very romantic," Emily said, gazing at a statue of St. Joan of Arc over a bank of lit votive candles.

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure we have time for any of that," Nancy interrupted. "We need to investigate." She felt like she really hadn't accomplished anything in the way of finding a decent clue today. She turned to the priest.

"Father Bertrand, do you have lights in this place? Other than the candles?"

"Not electric ones, my child," he said. "The cathedral is kept locked at night, so there really isn't any need. Besides, to wire this structure for electric lights would be cost prohibitive."

"How about a flashlight, then?" Nancy suggested.

"Those we have," he said with a smile. "Let me go find one for you."

Father Bertrand headed toward the side door of the cathedral, Nancy led the girls up to the altar.

"Okay, I'm a little concerned about this whole key thing. The main gate hasn't been opened in years, yet the monstrance was stolen from the altar through the main gate."

"And Father Bertrand is the only one with a key to it?" Emily asked.

"Yes." Nancy walked over to the side gates of the altar. "And these open with a key as well."

She placed the modern gold-plated key Father Bertrand had loaned her earlier into one of the locks and turned it. Stepping through to the other side, she let the altar gate close behind her.

"There's a little latch on this side that lets you open it without a key, but I assume it locks automatically on your side when it closes, right?"

Bess walked over and tried the wrought iron door. "Right."

"So, whoever took the monstrance probably didn't have access to one of the modern keys, or else they would have used it," Nancy said, as she stepped back through the altar gate. "They also wouldn't have had access to the altar from inside the monastery or there would have been no need for them to enter through the main altar gate at all."

"But who on earth would have an ancient key to the main altar that Father Bertrand thought there was only one of?" Emily asked.

Nancy held up her finger. "There's the first part of this mystery."

Father Bertrand returned with the flashlight.

"Father?" Nancy asked. "Can you show us where the monstrance was kept?"

"Of course."

He fished out his own bulky set of keys, hanging from a chain he wore around his waist, and unlocked one of the side altar gates. He ushered the girls through and closed it quietly behind him.

"Do you always carry all those keys?" Bess asked.

"Yes. We have many treasures and sacred places within these walls. It is my job to protect them." His face fell as he gestured toward a marble enclosure on a side altar. "Although, I'd say that I failed miserably in my duty as far as the monstrance is concerned."

"Father, precious artifacts have been stolen out of places that are a million times more secure than this cathedral," Nancy said with a wave of her hand. "Someone who is determined to be a thief will find a way."

"I suppose so," the priest replied, leading the girls over to the altar.

He rested the large flashlight on it, so that the marble tabernacle was well lit. Reaching for his key chain again, he removed a smaller ring and taking a simple silver key, unlocked the front of the tabernacle. He opened the door and exposed its empty insides. "This is where we kept the monstrance."

"And how was this box opened?" Nancy asked. "With a key as well?"

Father Bertrand nodded. "It appeared so. The lock suffered no damage. The door was left open and the monstrance was gone. Nothing else was disturbed."

"Then the perpetrator knew what he was looking for and where it was." Nancy paused and gazed around her. "Who knew it was kept here?"

The abbot shrugged. "I would imagine most residents of the monastery. All of the priests. It wasn't a secret, but I'm not sure it was common knowledge either. We have more than one monstrance. The one with the consecrated communion wafer is stored behind the main altar for veneration. This was where we kept the stolen monstrance since it was not in use for Mass that day."

"Why didn't you use the stolen one all the time?" Nancy asked.

"Because of its age and value. We didn't want anything to happen to it, so we generally reserved it only for special feast days and celebrations."

"But this was not something the general public would know?" Nancy moved closer to study the tabernacle.

"I don't know," Father Bertrand said. "We never made any announcements to that effect, if that's what you mean."

Nancy stepped back and smiled brightly at him as she shook his hand. "Well, thank you, Father. You've been very helpful. I hope you don't mind if we come back early tomorrow."

"Come as early as you like," he said. "We break our fast at five a.m."

Bess made a face.

Emily laughed. "Well, two of us will be here early, anyway."

Father Bertrand chuckled as he picked up his flashlight and led the girls through the altar gate, out of the cathedral, and back into the monastery.

"I can't thank you enough, ladies. This whole incident has greatly disturbed me. I'm very relieved you are all here now."

"We'll find it, Father," Nancy assured him.

"I know you will," he said warmly. "We are praying for it."


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for taking time to review, Caranath, Max2013, Jackie, zenfrodo, catlover1033, Stork Hardy, bhar and Vinsmouse! You're awesome! :)

Chapter 5

Joe awakened early the next morning to the sound of a ringing telephone. He groaned loudly and pulled his pillow over his head. "Make it stop!"

Miraculously, it did.

He exhaled deeply as he drifted back to sleep, only to startle awake the next instant at the sound of a blood-curdling scream from the living room. _What the hell?_ He leapt from the bed to see Frank tossing back his own sheets and blanket.

Joe pulled on his sweat pants and dashed into the other room to find Kathy standing next to the desk, the phone receiver dangling by its cord, and the expression on her face one of complete terror. He ran to her side.

"What's the matter?"

Kathy flung herself against his naked chest and stared up at Joe with wild eyes. "H-he knows I'm here. He said he's watching me."

Joe picked up the phone and held it to his ear. He was met with a dial tone. He pressed "O" to reach the hotel operator.

"Yes, this is Joe Hardy in the Alpine Suite. We just had a call put through to the room. Can you tell me where it originated?"

He paused while the operator checked. Scanning the room, he saw that everyone had stumbled out of their bedrooms in various states of undress.

"I'm sorry?" Joe said to the operator. "A local call? You can't give me any more information than that? I see. Okay, thank you."

He hung up and turned to face his audience. "It was made from somewhere in town. From an outside extension. Since it didn't go through the hotel switchboard, they can't give us any more information than that."

Kathy began to sob and Joe did his best to comfort her, while she clutched at him. Frank gestured to his brother and moved toward the couch. Joe led Kathy there and sat her down. Frank took her hands in an obvious attempt to prevent her from molesting Joe any further.

Joe jumped over the back of the couch and ran to grab a writing tablet from his bedroom. Spying his t-shirt lying on the floor, he quickly pulled it over his head as he stumbled back into the living room.

"Kathy, tell us what the person on the phone said to you," Frank instructed in a calm voice.

"H-he just said, 'You can't hide. I'm watching you,'" she stammered.

"Did the voice sound familiar?" Frank asked. "Was it one you've heard before?"

"I-I don't know." She shivered. "It just sounded creepy."

"What do you mean by creepy?" Joe took the seat next to her again.

"Creepy...like scary." She stared up at Joe, fear clouding her expression. "Like he wanted to hurt me."

Joe patted her hand. "It's okay."

The door to the suite opened and Kathy startled. She grabbed Joe's arm as Louis stepped inside and looked around the room.

"Who died?"

"Where have you been?" Simone demanded, tying the belt on her silk robe tightly around her waist.

"I went downstairs to drop off a package I needed sent back to Washington, and I picked up some coffee in the restaurant." He gestured with the Styrofoam cup in his right hand. "Why?"

"Because Kathy just got a phone call from the nut who's been threatening her, that's why," Joe said. "The switchboard said the call had been made from an outside line."

Louis chuckled as he took a sip of his coffee. "I hope you're not implying that I might be involved."

"We're not implying anything," Frank said. "Just being thorough."

"Well, rest assured, you can cross me off your suspect list." Louis unfolded the morning paper that had been left by the front door of the suite. "I am much too busy for that sort of childish prank."

"Childish?" Kathy exclaimed. "You think it's childish that someone is threatening my life?"

"Threatening your life?" Louis laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Kathy, according to you, not one of these phone calls, letters, whatever you've been receiving, has threatened you with bodily harm. I work for the government, where all kinds of serious threats are seen every day. What you've got here is some amateur having a great laugh at your expense." He sighed. "And possibly your father's."

"So, you don't feel like Kathy's in any danger?" Frank asked.

"No." Louis took a sip of his coffee and tossed the newspaper down on the bar. "I think this is a schoolboy...or schoolgirl...prank. Designed to cause excitement, and little else. Bored rich kids after a good time."

Tears welled in Kathy's eyes. "I'm glad you're so amused by this, Louis."

"I'm not 'amused', my dear," Louis corrected. "I'm annoyed. This whole set-up is unnecessary. And expensive. And I know that I, for one, have better ways to spend my time than babysitting some spoiled, rich, princesses on their European holiday."

Kathy stood up, her face flushed with anger.

"How dare you? I'm the daughter of one of the most powerful senators in the nation. My father spearheads some of the most controversial and necessary legislation our country has ever dealt with. He does have enemies. Real ones. And what better way to get back at Daddy than to hurt me? I'm more important to him than any stupid bill or law."

She stomped toward her room. "Not to mention the horrible publicity something like this would get. Can you imagine if something happened to Senator John Martin's daughter? The press would have a field day."

She slammed her bedroom door.

Louis rolled his eyes. "She's a legend in her own mind."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy tossed a sweater at Bess's sleeping head. "Hey, we're going to the monastery. You coming?"

Nancy already knew the answer to her question. Bess didn't "do" mornings. Especially mornings that started before nine o'clock. But Nancy didn't want to be accused of intentionally leaving her friend behind, so she thought she'd better ask anyway.

Bess groaned and rolled over. She reached for the digital clock on the bedside table, and after several fumbling attempts, grabbed it. She opened one eye to glance at the illuminated red numbers.

"Five-thirty in the morning? Are you nuts?" She let the clock drop to the floor. "Ask me again at ten."

Nancy chuckled. "Why don't you just come over there and find us when you feel up to it?"

Bess waved her hand absently and pulled the pillow over her head. Nancy turned to Emily, who was wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"Looks like it's just you and me. Big shocker, huh?"

Emily smiled as she grabbed her backpack. She and Nancy walked out the door, closing it quietly behind them, and headed downstairs toward the lobby.

OOOoooOOO

Frank and Joe stepped into the waiting elevator and hit the button for the lobby.

"You think Louis is telling the truth?" Frank asked.

"Yeah," Joe replied. "I mean, even if he was cold and cruel, I think he was being honest. He really doesn't believe these threats amount to anything." He looked at Frank. "What do you think?"

Frank sighed. "Part of me is inclined to agree with him. They really are vague."

"You think it's just harassment?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it's something that will ratchet up with time."

Joe nodded. "A bit of the psycho touch? Needing a little bigger fix with each threat?"

"Yeah, that's what makes me reluctant to be as dismissive as Louis is at the moment."

The elevator doors opened and Frank and Joe headed across the room to the lobby desk.

"You know, I don't like the idea that we're sitting ducks here," Joe said. "I feel like we're just waiting for this guy to do something serious and then react to it. I don't want to do that. I want to find him first."

Frank stepped up to the registration desk. "That's what we're trying to do, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Joe followed his brother, his back to the bank of elevators, as the doors opened again and Nancy and Emily exited.

OOOoooOOO

Emily gazed up at the beautiful wood timbered ceiling of the lobby, then turned to look through the enormous picture window at the snow covered Alps. This place was gorgeous inside and out. And the cathedral took her breath away every time she stepped inside it. She really wished Joe could be here to share it with her. She smiled as she thought of how much fun they could have together in this tiny town. It was the perfect place to escape.

She must have lagged a little behind while she was daydreaming, because when she looked up, Nancy was standing at the main entrance of the hotel, staring at her.

Emily hustled forward. "Sorry, I guess I was in my own little world for a minute there. I was just thinking how wonderful it would be to have Joe here."

Nancy gave her a sympathetic look. "I know. I must think of Frank twenty times a day. I really wish I could discuss this case with him. I know he'd have some great insights that would help me out."

They stepped outside into the brisk morning air and Nancy pulled the collar of her coat more tightly around her neck. "Not to mention how romantic this place is. Frank and I could spend our days investigating and our nights in front of a roaring fire in our hotel room."

Emily giggled. Only Nancy would think of detective work and romance in the same sentence. "I think we need to come back here with them after the mystery is solved. Then our vacation can be all about romance with no criminal types to interfere."

"Yeah, I guess not working on a case would make for a better vacation." Nancy tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "Or would it?"

"Yes." Emily was emphatic. "It definitely would. Personally, fighting off bad guys who want me dead just doesn't turn me on. But I know you and Frank are weird like that, so whatever works for you."

Nancy's eyes widened and she scooped up a large snowball, aiming it in Emily's direction.

Emily ducked and laughed out loud. "Hey, I'm not judging, I promise."

Nancy dropped the snowball with a grin, then linked arms with Emily as they headed for the monastery. "Think maybe I shook seek professional help for that?"

"Maybe," Emily teased, as they crossed the cobblestone square and hurried up the steps to the large wooden doors of the monastery.

The girls paused as they entered the main hall. It was a busy place, with the brethren of the order bustling past them on their way to their daily assignments.

"Well, I guess I'm off to the library," Emily announced.

Nancy nodded. "Sounds good. Try to find as much information on the monstrance itself as you can. And take note of any names you find in connection with it. We may need to contact them."

"Okay," she agreed. "Shall I meet you for lunch?"

"I'll come up and find you in a few hours," Nancy called over her shoulder, as she headed toward the entrance to the cathedral. "I'm going to do some people watching right now."

She slipped through the side door into the basilica and took a seat in the back where she could observe whoever was coming and going during the morning service Father Bertrand was about to preside over. She noticed a mixture of locals and tourists milling about. Some appeared to be there to celebrate Mass, while others were clearly there to tour the building itself. Nobody was doing anything to arouse her suspicions in the least. _I hope I'm not in over my head here._ _No clues, no suspects...no monstrance._

OOOoooOOO

Frank approached the clerk at the reservations desk. "Good morning. We're staying in the Alpine suite, and we have a question for you."

"Yes, how can I be of assistance?"

"Well, one of our party, Louis Remington, came down this morning to drop off a package," Joe spoke up.

The clerk nodded. "Yes, I took that for him. Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, no," Joe assured him. "We were just wondering if you noticed him making a phone call while he was down here?"

The man paused. "No, not that I'm aware of. He dropped off the package, and then headed for the restaurant."

"Okay, thank you." Frank smiled. "You've been very helpful."

The man nodded as the brothers stepped away from the desk.

Another dead end. Frank was sure this might have led to something. Was Louis being out of the room at the same time the phone call came through just a coincidence? If it was, then they really didn't have anything leads at all in this case.

"Seems to put Louis in the clear," Joe commented.

"Yeah, but things aren't always what they seem," Frank mused.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy stepped through the door of the monastery library at noon to find Emily and Guillaume with their heads together, bent over a large book. "Anything interesting?"

Emily looked up. "Interesting, but not necessarily relevant." She gestured to the table. "These are all papers about the cathedral, the monstrance, and the statue collected over the years."

Nancy slid into a seat on the other side of Emily. "Any clues?"

"I don't know." Emily handed Nancy a notebook. "I've been writing down the names of people who show up in the articles. Almost all of them are clergy members...and most of them are now dead. We could try pursuing more information through church channels, but I think that would just lead us down a whole bunch of rabbit trails."

"At least it would be some sort of trail." Nancy drummed her fingers on the table. "Right now, I have nothing."

"Nobody in the cathedral looked suspicious?"

"Not a one." She leaned back in her chair and caught Guillaume's eye. "Guillaume, what do you think is going on here?"

He glanced at Emily who translated Nancy's question. He shook his head and replied. Emily turned to Nancy. "He says he just thought someone took the monstrance for the money. The jewels in it are worth millions."

Nancy's chair thudded forward. "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of. And you know what will happen to it on the black market if that's why it was stolen. Broken apart, gold melted down, jewels sold piecemeal."

"Unless it was stolen as an artifact by art thieves to be resold on the black market," Emily countered.

"Is there a market for religious artifacts?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, most definitely."

"Okay, well then we have at least two possibilities for the fate of the monstrance."

A carillon sounded in the distance and Guillaume spoke.

"That was the bell for lunch," Emily told Nancy. "Guillaume wants to know if we'll eat with him."

"Absolutely." She smiled at the young man. "I could use the break."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy tugged on Joe's gloved hand as they stepped outside the hotel and headed toward the ski slopes. "Come on, honey. I don't want to miss any of this fresh powder."

"Hang on." Joe adjusted his goggles. "Man, the sun reflecting off this snow is blinding."

Tammy and Lauren were on either side of Frank. "We'll meet you down here later," Tammy called. "I'm sure you two love birds want to be alone."

Joe rolled his eyes behind his goggles and ignored Frank's ear to ear grin. Normally, Joe loved nothing more than a day of skiing. But he was pretty sure being stuck with Kathy was going to suck all the fun right out of it. He looked down and found her beaming up at him. Time to be a professional.

"Okay. Now remember, keep your eyes open for anyone who looks suspicious," he instructed.

"Oh, but that means I'd have to take them off you."

Joe stared at her. "Where on earth do you get your lines?"

She shrugged. "I watch a lot of soap operas. Boarding school is boring."

They hopped onto the chair lift and Joe turned to her. "Do you have to be in boarding school?"

"It's easier that way." Kathy said. "Daddy is so busy in D.C. It makes him feel safer to know that I'm not home alone. That I'm in a 'structured environment' as he calls it."

"Don't you think it's normal for him to feel that way?"

She stared off in the distance. "I guess." Turning back to Joe, she quickly changed the subject. "You mentioned last night that Frank was taken."

"I did."

"You never really answered the same question about you."

"There's a reason for that."

"What?"

"It's personal," Joe said, adjusting his ski gloves. "I don't like talking about it."

Emily was the one subject that was off limits. He'd found from past experience that the less clients knew about his personal life, the better it was.

Kathy tilted her head to the side. "Does she have gorgeous blonde hair like you?"

Joe grinned, but didn't reply.

"Are her eyes as nice as yours?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"I know why you don't want to talk about her," Kathy smirked. "She's really an ugly old hag, and you're too embarrassed to let anyone know you're dating her."

Joe chuckled. "You figured it out."

"No, really, Joe. Why won't you tell me if you're dating anyone?"

"Kathy, what I do is dangerous business. Sometimes that also means it's dangerous for the ones I love. I try to keep them out of it. The less people know about my love life, the safer anybody I might be dating is."

"Why would it be dangerous to tell me?"

"I'm not saying it is...it's just a policy I have."

"Doesn't make sense."

He sighed. Apparently she had no intention of dropping the subject. Fine, then he'd give it to her straight.

"Let's suppose you were abducted. And suppose I'd told you who I was dating. And suppose your abductor wanted to get back at me or try and stop Frank or me from rescuing you. Getting the name of my girlfriend from you and threatening me with her safety would probably do it."

Kathy looked down at her ski boots. "You are taken, aren't you? And worse than that...you're in love with her."

Joe gazed out over the snow covered mountain. He didn't want to think about Emily right now. It only made him miss her that much more. "This really doesn't have anything to do with your case, so why don't we just drop it and have fun today. Okay?"

She gazed up at him. "Okay."

Joe patted her arm. "Great. Look there's Frank and the girls."

Joe gestured toward a group of skiers in the distance, pointedly ignoring Kathy's stare and the determined glint in her eyes. The rest of this ski trip promised to be a very uncomfortable one, since he'd realized that being told "no" was not something Kathy could live with.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy and Emily slid their plastic trays slowly down the metal guide bars in the monastery cafeteria. Emily turned her head and surveyed the sea of brown robes that were the monks as they quietly ate their lunches at the long wooden tables. "Doesn't much look like high school, does it?" she asked Nancy.

"Not even close," Nancy replied, as she put an orange on her tray. "I've never felt more conspicuous in my entire life."

Emily smiled. "Kind of the opposite of what you want as a detective."

"No kidding. Good thing Father Bertrand concocted that story about us being students doing 'research.'" She glanced around the room of men. "Bess is going to be disappointed she missed this."

"They're monks, Nancy."

Nancy gestured toward Guillaume who was waiting for the girls at the end of the line. "She already hit on him. And besides, Bess wouldn't care. She'd be one of three women in a roomful of men. Those are her kind of odds."

Emily giggled. "A room full of men who've all taken vows to forsake the pleasures of the flesh."

Nancy watched as Guillaume smiled down at Emily, and took her arm to lead her to a nearby table. "Not all of them," she said with a grin.

OOOoooOOO

"Oh my gosh, that was so much fun!" Kathy squealed, her arm tight around Joe's waist as they stood in the elevator on their way back to their suite. Her afternoon had been perfect as far as she was concerned, and she wanted to keep it that way. As long as Joe's focus wasn't on the case, it could be on her.

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "The skiing here is incredible. Nothing like we have in the States."

"Well," Frank corrected. "Nothing like we have around us. There's some fabulous skiing in the Rockies."

"My family has a cabin near Vail," Lauren purred as she leaned into Frank. "Maybe you'd like to join us there sometime."

Frank grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure I'd enjoy spending time with your parents."

"Not what I had in mind," Lauren muttered.

Kathy smirked. Lauren had done nothing but strike out with Frank. She definitely didn't have the charm with men that Kathy did. She sidled closer to Joe. It was only a matter of time before he was completely hers. No matter what he'd said on the slopes, she knew differently. Men couldn't resist her, and Joe Hardy would be no exception.

Still grinning, Frank turned to Joe. "Hey, did you notice anything or anyone suspicious while you were out there?"

Joe shook his head. "No, and I was keeping my eyes open. You?"

"Nothing." Frank held open the elevator door with his hand while everyone filed out.

"See?" Kathy said, eager to keep Joe's focus on having fun. "I think it's just another stupid prank. Maybe this creep saw we weren't bothered by what's been going on, and decided to leave us alone."

"I hope so," Joe said, taking the room key out of his ski jacket pocket and inserting it in the lock.

He opened the door wide and the girls gasped.

"Or maybe not," Joe said, sounding resigned.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **A huge thank you to Caranath, catlover1033, max2013, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Leya, and Vinsmouse for the reviews! You made me momentarily forget that I am buried in 26 inches of snow at my house. Much appreciated. Thanks also to those who are reading!

Chapter 6

Nancy sat in the front pew of the cathedral with Emily, watching the afternoon tourists come and go.

"Okay," Nancy whispered after an elderly couple had passed by. "So what we know is that someone has managed to get the keys to the main altar, and the marble box where the monstrance was kept."

"And Father Bertrand is the only one with a complete set of those keys," Emily said.

"Correct." Nancy thumbed through her notes. "And he never even uses the key to the main altar gate, because it's so old."

"The priests go in the side gates with the modern keys, right?"

"Right." Nancy said. "Which means that if Father Bertrand has the only key to the main altar, the perpetrator must have gotten it from him. So when would Father Bertrand be without his keys?"

"When he's sleeping?"

Nancy wrote it down, hoping that if she read through all her notes tonight, something might jump out at her. Something that was completely evading her at the moment.

"And showering." She paused and looked at Emily. "I think this is an inside job."

"You mean one of the monks?" Emily's jaw dropped.

"Maybe. Or maybe someone disguised as a monk, or someone else who works here."

"Well, that narrows it down to a thousand people." Emily sighed.

"Yeah, but it can't even be _that_ many, if you think about it." Nancy pursed her lips. "It would have to be someone who knows Father Bertrand has the key on his person, and who could get close enough to him to have access to it."

"What if someone just broke into his room and stole the keys while he slept?"

Nancy nodded and continued writing. "That's a definite possibility, too. But I still think it would have to be someone on the inside. And someone who has access to a decent amount of keys themselves. There are too many doors he would need to go in and out of to even put himself in a position to steal Father Bertrand's keys."

"So, what you're saying is that we have nothing."

Nancy shut her notebook. "Pretty much. I think we need to start meeting some of the other people Father Bertrand spends time with."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm going to ask him to make a list for me. Then maybe we can split up and start asking some hard questions."

Emily's eyes grew wide. "You want me to do this? Me, the one in the bunch who's _not_ a detective?"

Nancy smiled. Emily doubted herself far too much in Nancy's opinion. No, she wasn't a detective, and Nancy would never make the mistake of treating her like one again, not after what happened during their case on an Oklahoma cattle ranch.

But as far as questioning people was concerned, Emily was great at it. She came across as very nonthreatening…something Nancy wasn't always able to master. And the fact that Emily was gorgeous had most male suspects willing to talk to her immediately. And even though these guys were monks, they were still men. Yep, Em was perfect for this assignment.

"You just need to ask questions. If someone seems suspicious, I'll follow up on it."

"I don't know, Nance," Emily said. "This sounds like something you should be doing. I can do research, but questioning suspects?"

"You'll be great," Nancy assured her, then furrowed her brow. "Although I do wish Frank were here. I would love to get his thoughts on this whole mess. Did Joe mention anything about what they were doing?"

"No, just said it was some government assignment in D.C. and he couldn't give me any details," Emily said. "He actually thought it was going to be boring."

"Yeah, Frank said the same thing." She pasted a bright smile on her face. "Maybe they'll finish up quickly. I'd love for them to come and help us."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Emily said, her tone wistful. "I really miss Joe."

Nancy stared down at her notes as an intense longing for Frank washed over her. He'd become her true partner in the nine months they'd been together. She counted on him now…in more than just a professional capacity, and not being able to talk to him had been harder than Nancy ever imagined it would be. As much as she hated to admit it…she needed him. That thought exhilarated and terrified her all at the same time.

Nancy exhaled deeply. "Yeah. Too bad they're half a world away."

OOOoooOOO

"Wh-what happened?" Kathy asked, bewildered as she stared into the suite.

It was completely ransacked. Furniture cushions were strewn everywhere, pillows had been torn open, glasses from the bar smashed on the floor, bottles of alcohol poured out, lamps broken and tables overturned.

In the middle of the room was a note plunged into the back of a wing chair with a penknife.

"No stupid lock will keep me out," Kathy read aloud. She began shaking. "Joe?"

He slipped his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" she protested. "Th-this is real. This isn't some prank. This guy is a nut!"

Kathy continued to stare around the living room. She'd never seen this kind of destruction before, and for the first time since she'd arrived in Switzerland, she was genuinely afraid.

Joe put his arm around her and Kathy leaned into him, grateful for his strength. He really was amazing. How could he be so calm in the face of all this? She took a deep breath and tried to stop the churning in her stomach. She did not want to be sick in front of him…because that would definitely not be romantic.

"It's all clear." Frank stepped out of one of the bedrooms and gestured for Kristen and Lauren to come inside the suite, while Joe guided Kathy into her own bedroom.

Kathy's only focus was on getting to the bed before her knees buckled. Although if they did, then maybe Joe would carry her. That might be good, except that she still thought she was going to be sick. And actually throwing up _on _Joe would probably completely kill her chances with him.

"Listen," he said. "You stay in here with your friends. We're going to call the police and look around out there."

"I don't want to stay in here," Kathy wailed. "I'm scared."

"Kathy, we can't have you disturbing any evidence," Joe insisted. "I'll come back and check on you, okay?"

"No, but I guess it'll have to be." She slumped down on the bed. This was not going the way she wanted it to. Why wouldn't he stay with her? She needed him, how could he even think of leaving her right now?

"It'll be fine," Joe said again.

Kathy watched as he stepped through the bedroom door and called to Frank who was surveying the damage.

"I'm beginning to lean toward that 'escalating psycho' theory."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy and Emily strolled back to the lobby of the hotel when Nancy noticed a police cruiser stopped in front of the entrance. "Hope there's nothing seriously wrong."

"Well, the last thing we need right now is another mystery." Emily stared pointedly at her friend. "So I'm just going to pretend I don't see anything and you are too. Right, Nancy?"

Nancy craned her neck so she could get a better view of the two police officers exiting their vehicle and hurrying into the lobby.

"Right, Nancy?"

"What?" Nancy turned back to see Emily standing at the hotel entrance with her hands on her hips. "Oh, yeah. Right."

Nancy stepped through the door of the lobby and watched as the officers dashed up the stairs, bypassing the bank of elevators. A high-pitched giggle from the lounge caught her attention and she turned her head.

Bess Marvin was seated on a leather sofa in front of a roaring fire, surrounded by several young men.

_Of course_, Nancy thought. _Where else would she be? _"I see Bess hasn't been wasting her afternoon the way we have."

"No, I'd say she's done quite well for herself," Emily agreed.

Bess looked up, and spotting her friends, waved them vigorously toward her.

"This should be interesting," Nancy said under her breath, as she and Emily headed into the lounge.

OOOoooOOO

Joe stepped back and moved to Frank's side as the police officers took over investigating the ransacked hotel suite.

"Did you find anything?" Frank asked.

"Nothing." Joe ran his hand through his hair.

"Okay, let's think about our suspects."

"What suspects would that be, Frank?"

"Well, the only ones we have at the moment are Louis, Simone, Tammy and Lauren."

"You really think it's one of them?"

Because Joe didn't. This seemed to him like the MO of a stalker. Someone who wanted to make Kathy afraid. But afraid of what? And why?

"Not really, but it's all we have at the moment. At least if we can clear them, we can start looking to the outside."

"For the psycho stranger."

"Yeah."

"I'm betting on that one," Joe said, as he entered his bedroom and grabbed his notepad. "Okay, the girls were with us the entire afternoon, right?"

"Right." Frank followed his brother and shut the door behind him. "Wait...no. Tammy left to come back here to get her gloves, and Kathy and Lauren went into the women's locker room to get changed after we got off the slopes."

"Then we need to talk to Tammy," Joe said. "We would have spotted Lauren sneaking out of the locker room."

"What would her motive be?" Frank asked. "Why would she want to terrorize Kathy?"

Joe shrugged. "Not sure she has one, but if I had to pick, maybe jealousy? I don't know."

"Well, that might be a possibility." Frank leaned one hand against the bedroom wall and turned toward his brother, lowering his tone to a whisper. "What did that dossier say about Tammy, do you remember?"

Joe looked at the ceiling, trying to recall what he'd read.

"Um, I think it said she was from somewhere in the mid-west and that she grew up on a farm." He paused. "Oh, and that she was at the school on a scholarship."

"Exactly." Frank nodded. "Her family isn't wealthy. Maybe she's jealous. Maybe she feels inferior to these girls. Maybe this is her way of striking back a little bit."

"That's a lot of 'maybes,'" Joe said. "She doesn't act weird around Kathy or Lauren. They seem to get along well."

"True," Frank agreed. "But you know people can act one way and be thinking something entirely different."

"Yeah, but have you noticed Kathy or Lauren treating Tammy badly?" Joe shook his head. "I don't know. That theory doesn't feel right."

"Fine, but let's not completely discard it. We don't really have anything else to go on."

"I'll keep a closer eye on how they interact together," Joe said. "If something seems fishy, I'll pursue it with Kathy."

"Sounds like a plan," Frank agreed. "I think we need to interview Louis and Simone a little more, too."

OOOOoooOOO

"Hi, Bess!" Nancy said, as she surveyed the handsome entourage surrounding her friend.

Bess gave her a mischievous smile. "Nancy? Emily? I want you to meet my new friends."

Two extremely handsome dark-haired men and a devastatingly good looking blond one greeted the girls. If Nancy could just bottle whatever it was Bess gave off that attracted all the hot men within a ten mile radius of her, she'd make a million dollars.

Bess touched the arm of the blond, who was seated next to her.

"This is Lars Svenson. He's one of the ski instructors here. He's an Olympian. From Norway."

Of course he was. Nancy looked down into a pair of piercing blue eyes. "Hi, I'm Nancy Drew."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Drew. Bess has been telling us about her beautiful friends."

"She didn't do you justice," one of the dark-hair men said. He stood and moved toward Emily. "I'm Matteo D'Amico."

"Let me guess." Emily giggled, as she stared into his warm brown eyes. "You're from Italy."

"Ah, my accent has given me away again." He flashed a brutally handsome grin.

He had dimples. Nancy almost laughed out loud. Bess never did things halfway, that was for sure.

Emily smiled in return. "Well, that...and your name."

The second young man stood and walked toward Nancy. "I'm his twin brother Marco."

"Are you a skier, too?" Nancy asked as she shook his hand._ Or just a cover model?_

"Yes," he answered. "We both are. We're representing Italy in the upcoming Olympic games."

Three Olympians. Yep, Bess had hit the jackpot.

Lars spoke up. "Are you ladies interested in some dinner? I know a great restaurant nearby. It's small and the tourists usually pass it by, but the food is the best in town."

"Well..." Emily hesitated and looked sideways at Nancy.

"Ah, you aren't comfortable going on a date with two brothers?" Matteo asked.

This time Nancy did laugh out loud and Emily shook her head.

"No, that's not it at all." She gestured between herself and Nancy. "In fact, we're dating two brothers back in the States."

Marco waved his hand. "Is that all? Not to worry then." He grinned. "You are not in the States. Now you can date two brothers in Europe as well."

Nancy exchanged glances with Emily, as she thought about how Joe would respond to that logic. She turned to Matteo.

"That's very sweet of you, but we couldn't possibly go on a date. We're committed to our boyfriends."

"Okay," Matteo replied. "No date. Just friends. But you still have to eat, do you not?"

"He's right, Nancy," Bess chimed in. "Of course, if you don't come, I'll have to go with all three guys by myself..."

"We'll come," Nancy jumped in, thinking no matter how nice these guys seemed, she was not letting Bess walk out the door with three men she barely knew.

"Friends only though," Emily clarified as Matteo guided her to the door of the hotel.

"Friends only," he agreed.

OOOoooOOO

After the police had questioned everyone in the suite, and taken the items they considered evidence, they left, along with the nearly hysterical hotel manager. Frank began straightening the living room with Joe, Lauren and Tammy's help. Kathy, too traumatized by what happened, had remained in her bedroom.

Frank knew he had to question the girls, but he didn't want to frighten them. He also didn't want to tip anyone off if they happened to be the guilty party. And honestly, he thought they looked too scared to actually be involved in any of this. Usually the perpetrator wasn't able to disguise their emotions that well…especially a perpetrator this young. They didn't have the skills.

Frank gathered the sofa pillows from the floor and turned to the girls.

"Tammy, when you came up here to get your gloves, did you notice anything suspicious?"

"N-no," she replied, still clearly shaken at the turn of events. "Everything was normal. Simone was just leaving the suite, as a matter of fact, when I got here."

"And that would have been around one p.m., right?" Joe asked.

"I think so. I didn't look at the clock," Tammy explained. "I just hurried into the bedroom, grabbed my gloves, and left."

"And the door locks automatically when you leave the room," Frank mused.

The lock showed had no sign of being tampered with and Frank knew that meant things looked mighty suspicious for the people on his suspect list. No one had broken into this room, they already had access to it.

"Does that mean the guy who did all this had a key?" Lauren squealed.

"Possibly," Joe said, glancing over at his brother.

Frank knew Joe was thinking exactly what he was. Whoever was doing this was someone very close to Kathy.

"I'm never going to be able to sleep tonight," Lauren said, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Don't worry, the hotel manager is having the locks re-keyed," Frank said, not wanting to alarm her. "So if the person had a key earlier, it won't work anymore."

"What if he didn't use a key?" Tammy asked softly.

"There were no signs of forced entry," Joe explained. "He used a key."

OOO

They were interrupted by a ringing telephone as well as the door to the hotel room opening. Louis and Simone entered the room, while Kathy called out from the bedroom, "It's probably my dad. I had a call into his office. I'll get it."

"What the hell happened here?" Louis asked, as he stepped inside.

He never got an answer. Kathy's hysterical screaming from the bedroom stopped everyone cold.

Joe dashed in and found her pressed back against the headboard staring at the telephone. He grabbed for the receiver and heard what sounded like a man's voice on the other end.

"Did you hear me, Kathy? Nothing you can do will keep me away from you."

"Who is this?" Joe shouted into the phone.

"Don't even try to hide anymore. It won't work. I'm always close by."

The phone was disconnected abruptly. Joe set the receiver down and turned to Kathy. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"There's nothing I can do, is there? He wants to hurt me and nobody can stop him."

OOOoooOOO

"You know, I have to admit it," Nancy said to Bess and Emily in their hotel room later that evening. "That was, without a doubt, the best fondue I've ever had in my life."

She'd actually enjoyed herself, hearing all the tales of life as an Olympic athlete that the guys had regaled them with. If she hadn't been so head over heels for Frank...she definitely would have been smitten.

Bess fell back on her bed, clutching the sweater she'd just removed to her chest. "That's because we were surrounded by the best looking men in the world while we were eating it."

Emily smiled. "I beg to differ."

Bess sat up. "What? You didn't think Matteo was handsome? Those dreamy brown eyes? That Italian accent? That dark, wavy hair?"

"He's very handsome," Emily agreed, as she reached for one of Joe's old t-shirts she'd brought to sleep in. "He's just not as handsome as my boyfriend."

Bess snorted. "Whatever." She sighed dramatically. "I simply don't know which one of them to choose."

"Lars seems to be rather hot for you," Nancy remarked, running a brush through her strawberry-blonde hair. If feeding Bess chocolate covered strawberries with his fingers was any clue.

"He does, doesn't he? And with those amazing blue eyes, he's hard to resist." Bess frowned. "But we're both blond. I don't think that would look good in the wedding photos."

Emily turned to Nancy. "Is she serious?"

"Completely," Nancy assured her. "Bess is one of a kind."

"It never hurts to think ahead," Bess said defensively. She settled herself against the headboard. "Okay, which sounds better? Bess Svenson or Bess D'Amico?"

"Bess Svenson?" Emily laughed. "That's a mouthful."

"It sounds like one word," Nancy chimed in. "Bessvenson."

Emily laughed louder. "It sounds like you just sneezed. Like I should say 'God bless you' afterwards."

Bess made a face. "Well, that won't work at all."

She twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger. "So, which cute Italian boy do I pick? Marco or Matteo?"

OOOoooOOO

Joe pulled his t-shirt off over his head and tossed it to the floor of his bedroom in the suite. He lay back in his bed and stacked his hands underneath his head, turning the events of the evening over in his mind.

"Something's bugging me about that phone call, Frank."

Frank bent over and picked up Joe's t-shirt. "You too, huh?"

"You want to go first?" Joe asked.

Frank flung Joe's shirt toward the laundry bag in the closet, then sat on his own bed.

"It was staged."

"Did you hear the clicking?"

"At the end of the call? Yes." Frank sat on the edge of his bed and removed his shoes. "Even listening in on the living room extension, it was obvious."

Joe stared at the ceiling. This added a whole new twist to everything. "So it was a recording. Now the question is, did the perp make the phone call himself and play the tape to disguise his voice..."

"Or did someone trigger it remotely?" Frank finished.

"And how are we going to find out?"

Frank pounded his pillows into shape before he fell back against them.

"And why would he do it?" Joe wondered. "Is he just trying to terrorize Kathy or is there some point to this?"

Frank turned his head to look at his brother. "You mean does he want to hurt her?"

"I think that's something we need to figure out."

"And pretty quickly, too." Frank agreed. "If your theory about the escalating psycho is the right one...I would say the next step is going to involve violence."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you for the wonderful reviews, max2013, Lady Emily, Stork Hardy, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse, Jackie, bhar, Caranath, Guest, catlover1033 and Manchu! You all are awesome! And Guest, unfortunately, everyone is a bit hampered in their investigative abilities because this story takes place in the same time period the show did...1977-79. Not a ton of technology available yet, and what we did have was a bit lame. LOL But they'll figure it all out anyway, just a little more slowly. And Manchu, Frank and Nancy tend to be too pragmatic and reasonable to get very dramatic. Especially the TV show characters...those two were not prone to histrionics at all. In fact, Frank even asked Nancy once if she was excited about something, because he couldn't tell. LOL So they will be in dramatic situations, but they'll never act in a dramatic fashion. It's just not who they are. I hope you like it anyway. :) Thanks to all who are reading! The fun really begins in this chapter!

Chapter 7

Early the next morning, Nancy walked quietly over to the marble chapel inside the cathedral, where she found Emily in front of the Madonna statue, writing on a notepad.

Nancy slipped inside the small chapel and approached her. "How's it going?"

Emily turned and smiled. "Great. I've gotten lots of information from the library with Guillaume's help, and now I just want to check some measurements and take a few photos."

"I didn't think cameras were allowed in here."

"Not the kinds of cameras tourists bring in. They have to use bright flashes to record an image." She reached into a tote bag resting on the pew. "I have a camera that curators use. The Bayport museum let me borrow it."

"Wow, that's terrific," Nancy said.

"Yeah, it's really nice. I already took photos of the main altar and where the monstrance was kept." Emily glanced down at her watch. "It's almost six o'clock, isn't it?"

"Yep, Father Bertrand will be getting ready to say Mass in a few minutes, so we'd probably better leave. They'll be opening the doors soon."

Nancy gazed up at the statue. She thought it was rather primitive and somewhat crudely carved, but the golden dress, crown and veil the Madonna wore were all very ornate.

"She's really old, isn't she?"

Emily laughed softly. "Yes, she is, but she's had some restoration work done. And her clothing isn't that old, relatively speaking. Seventeenth century."

"What? You mean they change her clothes?"

Emily nodded. "She and the Christ child she's holding have over fifty different robes and head pieces. Guillaume showed them to me. They keep them under lock and key in the library."

"That's interesting. So, is her history as important as that of the monstrance?"

"More," Emily replied. "She's what the pilgrims who travel here really come to see."

"Then why do you suppose it was the monstrance that was stolen?"

"I don't know," Emily positioned her camera to take another photograph of the Madonna statue. "That would be your job to figure out, Miss Detective."

OOOoooOOO

"Joe, I am not staying locked up in this suite today," Kathy insisted as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "We're in Switzerland, it's a gorgeous sunny day, and the ski slopes are calling me."

"And out there in the open, you would be very vulnerable."

Joe took a large bite of his omelet from room service. The note left in the suite yesterday was an overt threat, and he didn't want to take any chances by giving some nut easy access to the client.

"I'm not afraid," she said, a note of defiance in her voice.

"That wasn't the tune you were singing last night."

Lauren and Tammy entered the room and Joe watched as Kathy walked over to where he was sitting and perched herself on the arm of his chair.

_Here it comes_, he thought, mentally bracing himself for the attack.

Kathy leaned down and hugged him tightly. "Oh honey, I love that you're so worried about me, but I want us to enjoy our vacation. We don't get to spend enough time together as it is."

Joe paused and untangled her arms from around his neck so he could swallow his eggs without choking.

"Kathy, I just want to make sure you stay safe."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"I know, sweetheart, and I love you for it. But please, I just want to make a couple runs this morning. I'm feeling all cooped up in here." She ran her hand over Joe's cheek. "Please, baby?"

He cringed inwardly at the endearment, and looked up to find his brother smirking as he strolled into the room.

Joe narrowed his eyes and glared at him, then turned to Kathy. "Fine. But only a couple of runs. At least until Frank and I can get a better handle of what's going on around here."

He steeled himself as Kathy threw her arms around him again, hugging him so hard she toppled herself into his lap. She squealed and went to kiss him, missing his mouth by mere inches, as Joe quickly turned his head away from her.

"Thank you, sweetie. I love you so much!" she cooed.

Joe's fists clenched as he saw Frank choking back laughter while Tammy sighed and said, "Gosh, I wish I had a boyfriend like that."

OOOoooOOO

"Oh, come on," Bess pleaded, when Nancy and Emily returned to the hotel later that morning, "you need a break. You've done nothing but work since we got here."

"That's what I was hired to do," Nancy said dryly.

Bess had been on her case all morning about taking some time off to ski. But how could she do that? She'd been here for three days and still had no solid leads on the theft of the monstrance. It was driving her crazy. If only she could talk to Frank.

"Yes, but it's not getting you anywhere." Bess pulled on her parka. "I'm only asking you to take a couple hours off. Maybe it'll clear your head. Give you a fresh perspective on things."

Nancy put her hands on her hips and stared at her best friend. "You're really good, Bess. You almost have me convinced."

"Maybe she's right, Nancy," Emily said. "A couple of hours in the fresh air will do us some good."

Bess clutched Nancy's arm. "You can't come all the way to Switzerland and not hit the slopes at least once."

Nancy rolled her eyes. Obviously the only way to get Bess to leave her alone was to give in for a little bit.

"Fine. Just until lunch though. Then it's back to work."

"Perfect." Bess gave her a dimpled smile. "Lars is waiting in the ski shop for us."

"I hope I don't regret this," Nancy muttered as Bess led her out of the suite.

OOOoooOOO

"Is everyone ready?" Kathy asked, surveying her friends and Frank and Joe as they gathered their ski gear in the living room.

This was exactly what she wanted. Spending time doing something fun with Joe. He was never going to be able to see how perfect they would be together if all they did was stay in this suite and worry about her stalker. She was done with that.

"Yeah," Joe said, a note of irritation clearly evident in his voice. "I'm still not sure how I feel about this."

Kathy sidled up to him and linked her arm through his. "Oh, honey, I know you're worried about me, but try not to let it spoil our fun today, okay?"

He was so amazingly attractive. She could hardly believe she had him at her beck and call for the next two weeks. And by the end of that time, she knew he would be hers permanently.

Joe pulled away from her and snatched up his skis and poles. "I'm not trying to spoil anyone's fun, I'm just trying to lie low until I can get a handle on what's going on around here."

She leaned into him again, running her hand along his back. "Look, I already told you, I don't want some psycho to keep me from enjoying this vacation. I trust you, Joe. I know you can protect me."

"Kathy, I'm not a superhero."

"No, you're just great at what you do." She smiled seductively, hoping she looked alluring. "And don't worry, I won't let you out of my sight. I'll hold onto you as tightly as I can."

"Swell," he muttered as they walked toward the elevator.

There. She knew he would come around. He really did want to ski with her. And she was going to make the most of it.

OOOoooOOO

"Ah, there are my beautiful American girls," Lars called out as Nancy entered the ski rental area of the resort with Bess and Emily at her side.

Bess blushed and ran over to him. "I talked them into coming," she said, gesturing to her friends.

"Wonderful!" Lars grinned. "Marco and Matteo are waiting outside. Let's get your gear on, and we can join them."

Nancy tried not to roll her eyes. Bess had obviously arranged this ski session as a way to get another date with Lars. She should have known…it was the way Bess operated.

Emily walked over, a look of alarm on her face. "Bess didn't mention anything about this being a triple date."

"No, she didn't," Nancy replied. "And I'll get her for that later."

Nancy looked outside the large panoramic windows bordering one entire side of the ski shop. The sun was shining and the snow was fresh and powdery, and she thought that maybe Bess had been right. This might be exactly what they needed. She grinned at Emily. "But for now, I want to ski."

Emily laughed. "Me, too."

Lars came over with some ski-boots and gestured for Emily and Nancy to sit on a nearby bench. "Let's see if these fit you."

Emily smiled at him as she sat down. "Oh good, are you're going to help me? I hate putting my boots on. I can never get the clips and straps tight enough."

Lars grinned. "These boots will fit you like a glove. This is one thing I'm very good at."

"Surely that can't be the only thing you're very good at," Bess teased.

Nancy couldn't help rolling her eyes at that obvious line.

"Don't you ever stop, Bess?"

OOOoooOOO

Joe turned his head swiftly at the sound of familiar laughter.

It couldn't be.

It was.

Emily was seated across the room, with some blond Adonis kneeling in front of her and adjusting her ski boots.

What?

Joe was baffled.

Kathy continued to clutch at him. "What's wrong, honey?"

Joe didn't answer, he just continued to stare at Emily. He watched Bess Marvin take a seat next to her and spotted Nancy directly behind her. He shook his head.

_I must be seeing things._

Suddenly, Emily looked up and her eyes widened. He saw an expression of excitement and joy on her face, then just as quickly it turned to one of bewilderment and hurt.

_What's the matter, baby?_

He tried to walk toward her and realized Kathy was clinging to his arm tightly, leaning her head on his shoulder and rubbing his back.

_Oh, no, Em._ _It's not what you're thinking. _

He tried to untangle himself from Kathy, but her grip was too tight. He looked at Frank and gestured with his head wildly toward the girls.

Frank's mouth fell open and he shot a warning look at Joe.

Damn it. Joe knew this was a mess. If only he hadn't told Emily he would be working in some stuffy D.C. office for the next few weeks. He didn't blame her what she must be thinking now…he just had to fix it before it was too late.

OOOoooOOO

"Are these okay? Not too tight?" Lars asked.

Emily didn't respond. She was staring across the room at someone who looked exactly like Joe. But it couldn't be, because a blonde girl, who looked for all the world like she was in love with him, was clinging to his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder.

_He's not stopping her. He's not pushing her away._

Emily began to breathe rapidly. The flash of hurt was swift and hard, like she'd been kicked in the chest.

_Oh my gosh, I've been so stupid. He's not on a case. He's skiing with someone else. He's here with another girl._

Her world was imploding. The room began to spin and she reached out for something to hold onto.

"Emily?" Lars took her outstretched hands into his. "Are you all right?" He looked around wildly. "Bess? Nancy?"

Bess put her arm around Emily and Nancy leaned over her.

"What's wrong, Em?" Bess asked. "Are you feeling sick?"

She couldn't answer. She couldn't take her eyes off Joe. He had seen her now, but he wasn't moving. Wasn't coming toward her. He still had his arm around the other girl. She was kissing him on the cheek. Kissing him!

_Oh, God, it's true. He doesn't want the blonde to know about me. _

Hot tears stung her eyes and her breath was coming in gasps, as she pulled her hand away from Lars and grabbed Nancy by the arm.

Nancy leaned down and whispered in Emily's ear.

"There's a good explanation for this, Em. There has to be. This must have something to do with their case."

Emily shook her head violently and her voice was quivering. "What other possible explanation could there be? He told me he was on a boring government case in D.C. That he probably wouldn't even get outside to see the sun for weeks."

She struggled to her feet, running out the door of the shop as quickly as she could with the heavy boots on her feet. She stopped when she got outside and looked around wildly.

_Where can I go? I can't look at them. I can't. I can't._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Thank you so much, Caranath, max2013, Jackie, catlover1033, Manchu, Stork Hardy, Lady Emily, zenfrodo, I Love Mom, bhar, Vinsmouse and Leya for taking time to comment! You made my day! Back to the train wreck. LOL And thanks to those reading!

Chapter 8

Frank knew he had a disaster on his hands. He'd watched Emily flee and figured he only had a minute or two to pull things together before all hell broke loose.

He was sure it wouldn't be long before Nancy saw him, and sure enough, her eyes widened as she looked up and spotted him not ten feet away. He made a slight gesture with his head and the return nod she gave him was almost imperceptible.

Frank turned to Joe, who he knew was ready to take off after Emily.

"Joe, you stay here." His words were measured and firm. "I need to take care of something for a few minutes. You stay with Kathy. Understand?"

"Yeah." Joe stared at his brother and Frank caught the pleading look in his eyes.

"Everything will be okay," Frank told him reassuringly in a low voice.

"Come on, Joe," Kathy insisted, tugging on his arm. "I want to ski."

"Yeah, fine." Joe's voice was clipped as she dragged him through the locker room and out the same door Emily had used just moments ago.

Frank ran his hand through his hair in frustration. How in the hell had this happened?

OOOoooOOO

Bess spotted Emily seated on an outside bench near the ski lift. She was bent over, her hands wrapped tightly around her middle, looking like she was desperately trying not to lose control in such a public place.

Bess ran over to her, with Lars close behind, and sat down, throwing her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Emily, please tell us what's wrong."

She looked up at Lars, ignoring Bess. "Take my boots off, please."

"But why?" Lars asked, kneeling in front of her.

"Please. I need to go inside. I think I'm going to be sick."

He quickly undid the buckles and pulled them off her feet. Emily stood up in the snow.

"You can't walk through the snow in just your socks," he protested.

Bess watched closely as Emily glanced around, seeming to catch something in her gaze. Bess followed her line of vision and only saw the backs of a young couple walking toward the ski lift. The girl had her arm wrapped tightly around the guy as she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

A sob caught in Emily's throat, and as Bess turned toward her, Emily jumped up and ran swiftly through the locker room door, minus her shoes.

Bess exchanged looks with Lars. "I guess I'd better make sure she's all right."

OOOoooOOO

Frank rounded the corner past the locker room and almost right into Nancy. He stopped, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then slipped into a linen storage room with Nancy right behind him.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Frank demanded.

"I guess I should ask you the same thing. And who is that blonde hanging on Joe?"

"We're guarding her, Nancy. She's Senator John Martin's daughter. Some crackpot has been sending her threatening notes and we're supposed to be protecting her. Joe is posing as her boyfriend."

"Oh, geez," Nancy said.

"Yeah. And unfortunately, Kathy is taking the whole thing a little too seriously. She has quite a crush on Joe."

"Emily saw him, you know."

"I know." Frank paused. "What are you doing here?"

"Working on a case, if you can believe it." She leaned casually against a shelving unit stacked with towels. "A missing monstrance at the cathedral. The abbot is an old friend of Dad's."

Frank nodded. "That sounds interesting. How's it coming along?"

"Slow, unfortunately. How about your case?"

"The same." He reached forward and pulled her into him. "Man, I have missed you so much."

Nancy wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his chest. "I missed you, too."

She tilted her head back and Frank brought his mouth over hers for a lingering kiss.

"Mmmm." He held her more tightly as desire began to pound through him. It had been way too long since they'd been together.

He felt Nancy soften in his arms as she opened her mouth against his and Frank couldn't control the rush of heat that ran through his body.

Digging his fingers into her hair with one hand, and cupping her bottom with the other, he brought her body more fully against his.

He needed her close to him. Needed this intimate pressure between them. His kiss became hot and hungry, and he knew he was fast approaching the point of no return. No other woman had ever been able to make him lose control the way Nancy did.

As his mouth moved down her neck to taste every inch of her exposed skin, he heard Nancy's voice, slightly breathless. "Where can I meet you later?"

Frank kissed her tenderly beneath her ear, then stepped back slightly and looked into Nancy's blue eyes, still hazy with passion. "You read my mind."

"Your room?" she asked, hopefully.

He shook his head. "We're in a suite with the girls, a federal employee and a...governess, I guess."

"I'm sharing a room with Bess and Emily."

"Can't you get some time alone in there?"

"Are you suggesting some sort of afternoon tryst, Frank Hardy?" Nancy teased.

"Yeah."

Frank moved his mouth over hers again, slowly and tenderly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" he whispered against her lips.

"Not a one." Nancy smiled and pulled his head forward for another intimate kiss.

OOOoooOOO

Emily ran up the stairs to her hotel room, then slammed and locked the door behind her. She leaned against it and sank to the floor as the image of Joe with that blonde touching and kissing him looped through her mind over and over again.

Suddenly she felt like she was back in high school, when her steady boyfriend Matt told her he would need to spend the entire week after school studying in the library for his calculus final. Only when she showed up at the library to surprise him one afternoon, the only thing he was studying was Suzy Stevens.

But Joe wasn't Matt. Joe was sweet. He had integrity. He loved her. So how could this be happening? Was Nancy right? Was this really all about a case? If it was, then why did he tell her he would be doing office work in D.C.? And why would skiing with a blonde cheerleader have anything to do with a government case?

She couldn't think right now.

It hurt too much.

She bent her head forward on her knees and sobbed. Her heart felt broken. That much she knew for sure.

OOOoooOOO

Bess dashed through the lobby, hoping to catch up to Emily. Instead, she bumped into Frank.

"Frank Hardy? What are you doing here?"

Frank put his finger up over his mouth to indicate silence. He took Bess by the arm and pulled her down a hallway. "I'm here on a case. Undercover, Bess, so don't say anything."

"Does Nancy know? Is Joe here?"

"Yes and yes," he said in a low voice.

"Well, good," she continued, "because Emily is all upset about something and I think Joe should know about it. I was just on my way to try and find her."

"Joe does know about it, and I'll take care of Emily." Frank guided her toward the locker room with his hand. "You just go ski and have fun. And remember, if you see Joe, don't say anything to him."

"Gotcha." She gave him a dimpled smile and hurried back to Lars.

OOOoooOOO

Emily slowly stood, her eyes swollen from crying, and her cheeks red and tear-stained. She removed her parka and snow pants, then sat on the edge of her bed.

Maybe Joe was on a case. And maybe he wasn't. Either way, she knew she didn't want to stay around and watch. There had to be other hotels in this town…or maybe Father Bertrand would let her stay at the monastery.

A flash of gold caught her eye and she stared down at the family ring Joe had given her to wear on her left hand. He couldn't afford a diamond at the moment, and they weren't officially engaged, but as far as she was concerned, the commitment level was the same.

Slowly, she pulled it off and set it on the dresser. Then she did the same with the diamond necklace he'd given her when he first told her that he loved her. She just couldn't look at either one of them right now. She needed to think.

She turned as someone knocked quietly on the door.

"Emily? Are you in there?"

It was Frank's voice. Emily was puzzled. Frank was here, too? She hadn't noticed him downstairs.

The knock sounded again, more insistently this time. "Emily, if you're there, please let me in. I can't be seen out here."

She opened the door and bent her head down so Frank couldn't see her face.

"Em?"

Her back was to him. He gently reached out a hand and touched her shoulder.

"Emily, I need to talk to you." His voice was soft and pleading.

She slowly turned and looked up at him.

"Oh, no, Em."

Frank pulled her into him and hugged her, dropping his head down over hers protectively, while she began to sob against his chest.

"Emily, Joe is not cheating on you."

She pulled away from him. "Then would you mind explaining exactly what's going on? Because it sure looked like cheating to me."

Frank took her hand and led her over to the bed.

"Sit," he ordered.

She did, her breath coming in the hiccupping spasms that occur after a hard cry. Frank put his arm around her.

"Emily, Joe and I are here on a case. That blonde girl you saw him with is Kathy Martin. The daughter of Senator John Martin."

She arched an eyebrow as Frank mentioned the familiar name.

"She's been receiving threatening letters, and her father thought that having detectives who were closer to her in age would be better than FBI agents tailing her everywhere she went. She's a senior in high school, and Joe's been assigned to play her boyfriend."

Frank put his finger under Emily's chin and lifted it until she was looking directly into his eyes.

"And he hates it."

"He didn't look like he hated it," she said softly.

"He does, I promise." Frank put his hands on both of her shoulders. "She has a crush on him, so of course, when they're out and about, she's a little clingy. Em, he never touches her any other time. I swear it."

Emily sat quietly, trying to process all Frank had just told her. It was all for a case. An undercover assignment. She felt like an idiot. She'd just earned a gold star in jumping to conclusions.

"You know you're all he thinks about."

A hopeful smile crossed her lips. "Really?"

"Of course. Joe loves you. He would never do anything like this. Ever." Frank bent down and caught her gaze. "You do believe me, don't you?"

She nodded. "I feel even more stupid than I did before."

He hugged her. "Don't. I'll admit, it looked bad. Really bad. But he's just doing his job, I promise."

"Can I see him?"

"I don't know."

Disappointment washed over her. She desperately wanted to see Joe. But she was determined not to be one of those needy, demanding girlfriends who interfered with his job. She couldn't stand girls who acted like that.

"I'll see what I can do, okay?"

She smiled again. "Thank you, Frank. But please, don't risk his cover for me."

"Hey, he could use the break. Besides, I'd do anything for my future sister-in-law," he said with a grin.

OOOoooOOO

"Joe, why does that man keep staring at us?"

Kathy pointed to someone on the ground below as the chair lift took them up the mountainside.

Joe followed her gaze. There did seem to be a man watching them.

"I don't know," he replied, taking note of the man's black ski pants and black and white jacket.

"I saw him in the locker room, too," Kathy added, turning around to watch him as the chair ascended.

"Don't stare, he'll know we've spotted him," Joe ordered. "Why didn't you tell me you saw him in there?"

"I didn't think anything about it until we came out here." She smiled slyly. "Lots of guys look at me, Joe."

"I'm sure they do."

"Besides, you seemed like you were preoccupied."

Joe felt Kathy's eyes on him, and he tried to control the sudden flash of pain that went through him as he remembered the devastation on Emily's face. He knew what she'd been thinking, and it was killing him to not be able to set her straight. He hoped Frank could make her understand.

"Is something the matter?" Kathy's voice broke through his thoughts.

"No," he said, as they came to the top of the mountain and jumped off the chair lift. "Stay close to me."

"You won't have to tell me twice," Kathy said.

Yeah, and that was exactly the problem, Joe thought as he adjusted his goggles. He was struggling against the resentment he was starting to feel for his client. He didn't want it to cloud his judgment. But it was becoming increasingly difficult. Joe sighed.

One more challenge on an already challenging case.

OOOoooOOO

Frank looked up at the mountainside, blindingly white against a brilliant blue sky. He pulled out his sunglasses and searched the slopes. He noticed Bess skiing next to a blond ski instructor. That didn't take her long.

Nancy was right behind them, and Frank took a moment to appreciate her skill and her form in her tight ski pants and parka. He was a lucky man.

He then spotted Joe and Kathy higher up the mountain. Joe was going rather fast, but Kathy had no trouble keeping up with him.

Frank took a seat on a nearby bench and waited. Nancy breezed by and winked at him as she went to catch up with Bess.

Frank turned his head as Joe executed a well-placed hockey stop right in front of him, spraying snow everywhere.

"Did you see a guy in black pants and a black and white parka? He was standing right here when we were on the chair lift."

"No, why?" Frank glanced around.

"He seemed to be watching Kathy. Maybe it was nothing." Joe stared intently at Frank. "Did you talk to Emily?"

Frank's voice was low as he looked over at Kathy, who appeared to be distracted by her friends at the moment. "Yeah. She was pretty upset."

Joe's face fell. "How upset?"

"She'd been crying pretty hard."

Joe dropped his head. "Damn it."

"She's fine. I explained everything."

"Why are they here, anyway?"

"Nan's on a case. Some art piece is missing from the cathedral. Emily's researching the artifacts."

Joe stared up at the mountain for a few seconds. "This is hard, Frank. Really hard."

"I know." He put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Why don't you go see her?"

Joe's head snapped around. "You mean it?"

"Yeah."

Joe smiled. "Thanks, bro."

"Don't mention it." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Here's her room key."

OOO

Kathy had been watching the exchange between Frank and Joe with interest. The room key Frank handed him did not escape her notice. She began walking over to them, then tripped, falling to the ground.

"Joe," she cried out.

"What happened?" Joe asked as he hurried toward her.

"I don't know. My bindings caught or something." Kathy looked up at him. "Ow, my ankle really hurts. I don't think I can walk."

Joe sighed, closed his eyes, and blew out an obviously exasperated breath of air.

That irritated Kathy. He shouldn't be acting so put out about her. He was her boyfriend, after all. For heaven's sake, her friends were standing right there.

Joe bent down and scooped her up in his arms. "I'll take you upstairs and Simone can have a look at it."

Now this was more like it. Kathy nestled her head against Joe's shoulder and slipped an arm around his neck while he carried her back into the ski lodge.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews, Caranath, max2013, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, zenfrodo, catlover1033, Jackie, bhar, Lady Emily, and Vinsmouse! Love hearing what you have to say! A bit of a fluffy chapter today. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 9

Joe paced back and forth in agitation. It had been thirty minutes since he'd carried Kathy up to the suite and called for the hotel doctor. What was taking so long?

He stopped in his tracks as Kathy's bedroom door opened. It was about damn time.

"I've wrapped Kathy's ankle and she's resting in bed," the doctor said. "I think it's probably just a slight sprain. It's not really swelling like I would expect it to, but sometimes that takes awhile."

"Thank you." Joe shook his hand.

The doctor smiled. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. Just have her stay off the slopes for a couple of days."

"I really want a boyfriend like that someday," Tammy said, loud enough for Joe to hear, as he shut the door behind the doctor and moved over to the couch.

He knew the girls had misinterpreted his anxiety as concern over Kathy, and he figured that would work well for his cover. But right now, his only thoughts were for Emily.

He looked up as Frank entered the room. His brother smiled at Lauren and Tammy, then leaned into Joe as he walked by him.

"Go now."

"What about Kathy?" Joe sneaked a glance in the direction of her bedroom.

"I'll take care of it. You just leave. You've kept Em waiting long enough."

Joe gave Frank a grateful look as he headed for the door without an explanation to anyone.

"Where's he going?" Tammy asked.

"He's following up on a lead," Frank replied.

OOOoooOOO

Joe fished the key to Emily's hotel room out of his pocket and quickly turned the lock. Knocking on the door was a waste of time. He needed to see her now.

"Emily," he called out softly.

He stopped short when he spotted her curled up on a bed, fast asleep.

He smiled as he walked over to her. Her long, dark brown hair was splayed across the pillow and her face.

Kneeling down next to the bed, Joe brushed it softly back. He noticed her cheeks were splotchy, and every few seconds she hiccupped, telling him clearly that she'd been crying.

"Oh, honey." He gazed at her slightly parted lips and leaned in, kissing them tenderly.

The touch of her mouth against his sent a tremor through him. He paused to take a breath then bent down again, moving his lips over hers, softly at first, then more intently as he realized exactly how much he loved and missed her.

He felt her instinctive response as she kissed him back, even though she was still half asleep. He loved it.

When her eyes fluttered open to meet his, she pulled away.

"Joe?" Her brow furrowed.

He smiled at her. "It's me, baby."

OOO

Emily thought she might be dreaming. She pushed herself to a sitting position, and tucked her legs underneath her. "How? When?"

"Frank gave me your key." Joe sat on the bed in front of her. "I'm sorry it took so long."

It really was Joe. And no blonde girl in sight. She smiled. "It's okay. I'm just happy you could get away for a little bit."

Joe reached out for her and she hugged him tightly. She wasn't going to let him know how upset she'd been about Kathy. Not right now anyway. He looked worried enough. Not to mention, he seemed completely worn out. This case must be more stressful than she thought.

"Did Frank tell you what's going on?"

Emily nodded against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't let you know. It's a government case. Senator Martin asked for confidentiality."

Emily sat back on her heels. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because you're more important to me than any job. From now on, I'm going to let any client know that you are the exception to a confidentiality agreement. Okay?"

"Joe, I don't expect you to do that. I don't _want_ you to do that."

He took her hands in his. "Em, I will do whatever I have to so this never happens again."

"But not that."

He was sweet to even suggest it, but it wasn't something Emily ever wanted from him. For one thing, she knew no client would ever hire him under those conditions, and for another, she knew confidentiality was an integral part of his job. As was undercover work on occasion. It was just something she would have to get used to, because being a detective was who Joe was. He felt the same way about solving crime as she did about preserving art. And she didn't want to change any of it.

Joe looked at her anxiously, "You do know I would have told you everything I'd been doing once Frank and I wrapped this up, don't you?"

"Yes, and I understand. I promise. Let's just call this more 'on the job training' for me and move on." She really didn't want to relive any of it.

"Em, I saw your face in the ski shop. You thought I was cheating on you."

And she especially didn't want to recall the ski shop.

"Joe–"

"I know that's what you were thinking."

Emily shrugged. Joe wasn't going to let this go. The detective in him wanted to get to the bottom of it. What had she seen? What had she thought? She wasn't sure she wanted to tell him. It was over, and rehashing it wouldn't do any good.

"I don't blame you one bit," Joe said. "I know it looked like I lied to you. But I swear, babe, when we got this assignment, I really did think I'd be in D.C. I was only told that we were taking a confidential government case for Senator Martin. Nobody mentioned a ski trip to Switzerland."

"You don't need to explain. I understand that your job isn't always going to allow me to know everything you're doing."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Most of the time." Emily gave him a half smile. "I just worry about you being in danger, that's all. I don't want you to get hurt."

That was her worst nightmare. That he'd be undercover somewhere, get hurt or worse, and she wouldn't know for days.

"Believe me, I don't want that either." He ran his hand along her arm. "And I promise, I take every precaution I can so that doesn't happen."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't worry."

"Well, try not to worry as much. And I'm sorry you had to see me with Kathy and think for even one second that I was cheating on you."

Emily swallowed hard. He really wasn't going to let this go.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think at first." She smiled at him. "Although Nancy tried to tell me that you being here must have something to do with your case."

"I know it didn't look like casework."

"Well, not with Kathy draped all over you like a bad poncho."

Joe grimaced.

Emily's voice grew quiet as she recalled what happened. "Kathy was touching you…a-and…kissing you. I couldn't think rationally anymore. I could only process what I was seeing right in front of me. She was hanging on you. She had this look on her face like she was in love with you. You saw me, Joe. I knew you saw me. But you didn't do anything."

Her words were tumbling out on top of each other, and she couldn't seem to stop the tears that were stinging her eyes again.

"You stood next to her and looked right at me. I thought you didn't want her to find out that I even existed. I knew there had to be an explanation, but right at that moment, I wasn't sure what it could be."

She gave him a wobbly smile. "I'm sorry. I should have known better."

"No, baby, how could you?"

She squeezed his hands and Joe looked down puzzled.

"Em, where's your ring?"

She shifted and glanced away. Oh, crap. She'd forgotten about that.

"I-I took it off."

OOO

A wave of apprehension washed over Joe. She never took her ring off.

"Why?"

Emily bent her head down. "I was confused. I needed to think."

"What do you mean?"

"After I saw you with Kathy, I knew I couldn't stay. No matter what the reality turned out to be. If you were here undercover, then my staying would compromise it, and if you weren't…"

A searing pain ripped through Joe as it dawned on him what she was trying to say. "You were going to leave me?"

Emily looked up and Joe could see the sorrow in her eyes.

"You were leaving me." His voice was a hoarse whisper.

She reached out and touched his arm gently. "Honey-"

Joe shook his head, feelings of fear and desperation overwhelming him.

"Emily, I don't give a damn about her. She's a client. I'm doing my job. I never touch her when I don't have to pretend. Never. And even in public, I've never kissed her. You have to believe me. She means nothing to me."

"I know," she said softly. "And I understand everything now. Truly, I do. But when I first saw you, I was confused. And it hurt. I wasn't breaking up with you, Joe. I just wanted to step back and figure out what was going on. That's all, I promise."

He reached out and pulled her into him fiercely, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"I'm sorry. I swear nothing like this will ever happen again. I love you, Emily. Only you. Do you understand that?"

She gazed up at him and brushed an errant lock of blond hair from his forehead. "I love you, too. And I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

Joe's body flooded with relief as he heard her words, and he hugged her tightly. She wasn't mad. She loved him. And most importantly, she wasn't leaving him.

He covered her mouth with his, kissing her urgently, desperately, as his hands roamed over the back of her sweater. Emily skimmed her fingers over his chest lightly, then twined them around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Joe ended the kiss, but his mouth didn't leave hers. "I've missed you so much," he murmured before crushing his lips against hers and lifting her onto his lap. He felt her tremble in his arms, fueling his passion further.

"Emily," he gasped as she broke away to tenderly kiss his neck.

His breathing was heavy and ragged as her warm mouth caressed him. He was overwhelmed by the emotions he was feeling for her. Love, need, desire. They consumed him as he slid his hands under her sweater and ran them along her bare skin. He brushed his mouth over her hair, kissing the top of her head, her temple, her cheek.

Emily reached for the buttons of his shirt, undoing each one and spreading the fabric apart so her lips could reach his bare chest. Joe closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing as her hands slid to his stomach. His muscles rippled under her touch.

"Em" he breathed.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with love and longing, and Joe groaned. He laid her down gently on the pillows and stretched himself out next to her.

Kissing her deeply, he pulled her close until her body was completely molded to his. Emily moaned softly as Joe broke away and moved his attention to the hollow of her throat.

"Joe," she whispered.

He looked at her through half lidded eyes as he slid her sweater up, exposing her stomach and her lacy pink bra.

"Emily, I need you, baby." His voice was thick and husky.

"Bess and Nancy," she murmured. Her breath caught in her throat as Joe moved his lips over neck. "They'll be here soon."

"No." Joe could hardly speak, his mind was growing so hazy with desire. "Door's bolted shut."

His hand moved over her rib cage, caressing her tenderly. He closed his eyes, afraid that merely looking at her would send him over the edge and he wanted to take his time.

He bent down, kissing her lips gently. "Let me love you, Emily," he whispered softly into her mouth. "Let me love you, baby."

For a response, she reached down and pulled her sweater up and over her head, then brought her mouth to his in a fiery kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Thank you for the comments, Caranath, ILoveMom, max2013, Leya, catlover1033, Guest, zenfrodo, Jackie, bhar, Lady Emily, Vinsmouse and Stork Hardy! They are very much appreciated. A little fluff to begin the chapter and then back to the case. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10

Joe drew in a long, contented breath as he lay sprawled on the bed, one arm hooked around Emily. She was snuggled against him, using his chest for her pillow. Joe bent his head down and kissed her forehead.

"Happy?"

She sighed and ran her hand down his chest and across his stomach, finally coming to rest on his hip bone. "Very."

A slow smile spread over Joe's face as he rolled toward her. "I love you," he said, touching his mouth to her already kiss-swollen lips.

"I love you," she breathed, her head now resting on her pillow. She brought her fingertips up to trace lightly over the curves of his face. She smiled as she ran her index finger down his nose. "That was perfect, you know."

"Perfect, huh?" Joe grinned.

Emily nodded and leaned in, kissing him tenderly. "Absolutely, one hundred percent perfect in every way."

Joe lay back on his pillow. "I don't think I'd say that."

A worried look crossed Emily's face. "Why not?"

He turned his head. "Oh,_ you_ were perfect, honey. It's just that..."

Emily sat up. "What?"

Joe snapped his fingers. "Wait, I know what it is."

He slipped out from underneath the sheets and walked across the room to Emily's dresser. He returned holding her jewelry and pressed his knee into the mattress. "Turn around."

Emily pulled her hair up and shifted so that her back was to Joe. He slipped the pendant around her, dropping a delicate kiss on the nape of her neck as he fastened the clasp. He watched as she touched the diamond, then turned and looked up at him with a smile.

Joe reached for her left hand and slid the ring back onto her finger. Emily stared down at it, her eyes filling with tears. Joe took her hand up to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

"This doesn't come off again until I replace it with a diamond, got it?"

Emily nodded vigorously as she lay back down on her pillow, holding her hand out in front of her to stare at Joe's ring. He gazed down at her, love swelling his chest until he thought it might burst.

"Now it's perfect."

She smiled and reached for him. Joe brought his mouth over hers, kissing her slowly and deeply, wanting her all over again.

"Emily?" He whispered the question against her parted lips.

"Yes, Joe," she breathed, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

OOOoooOOO

Frank glanced up as Louis entered the Alpine suite. The man's brow was furrowed and his lips pressed together in a tight line.

"Is something wrong in here?" Louis asked. "I just passed the hotel doctor and he said someone had gotten hurt on the slopes."

"Kathy twisted her ankle," Frank explained, "but she's fine."

"Oh, is that all? Of course she's fine." Louis's tone was matter-of-fact. "It's another bid for attention. Was someone ignoring her when it happened?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Frank smiled. It seemed like the senator's top aide had also had more than enough of Kathy's antics.

Louis rolled his eyes and took a seat on the sofa. He was reaching for his briefcase when Kathy entered the room, limping.

"Nice touch," he muttered, as he took out a file and began examining its contents.

Kathy ignored him.

"Frank, where's Joe?" she wailed. "I've been waiting for him to come and check on me."

"Oh, um, he had to do some investigating."

"Investigating? What does that mean? He's supposed to be here protecting me." She strode across the room toward Frank, her limp disappearing.

Frank chuckled at the obvious inconsistencies in her so-called injury, then noticed Tammy and Lauren eyeing him curiously.

"Well, Kathy, remember the man at the bottom of the slopes you thought was watching you?"

She nodded.

"Joe was worried about that. He went to go check it out. See if he could get some information on him."

She crossed her arms and huffed out an exasperated breath of air.

"Why couldn't you do that?"

"I didn't see him, remember?"

"Well, when is he coming back?"

"When he's finished. It might take him awhile. Why don't you get some rest?" Frank suggested. "You shouldn't be walking on that ankle."

Kathy spun around and headed back toward her bedroom, the limp now prominent in her gait again.

"Send him in as soon as he gets back."

"Aye, aye, captain," Frank said under his breath.

OOOoooOOO

Louis waited until Lauren and Tammy had followed Kathy into her bedroom and shut the door before he turned to Frank.

"You saw someone watching her?"

"Yeah," Frank replied. "Well, Joe did, anyway."

Louis fished around in his briefcase. "Did he look like this guy?" He handed Frank a photograph.

"Matches Joe's description," Frank replied. "Who is he?"

"One of our agents." Louis stood and moved toward the bar. "Senator Martin wasn't about to leave Kathy with just you and your brother protecting her. He has several agents watching her as well."

Louis gestured to the photograph. "That's Jason Crowell. I'll have him make contact with you so that Joe can confirm his identity."

"The senator doesn't trust us?"

"The senator doesn't trust anyone as far as his daughter is concerned. You and your brother were only brought in on this because Kathy demanded it."

"_Kathy_ demanded it?"

"Yes, she wanted some detectives closer to her age. She detests the agents trailing her." Louis poured himself a scotch. "There's a surprise, huh?"

"So, Senator Martin doesn't really think we can figure out who's stalking his daughter?"

"Actually, you both have a very fine reputation. He was impressed with the work you've done. He just knows that Kathy is a whining, demanding, brat who will try and monopolize your time, and prevent you from getting the job done." He took a swig of the scotch. "Which seems to be exactly what she's doing."

Frank chuckled, "You noticed, huh?"

"Kind of hard to miss," he snorted. "Listen, I don't know what the senator is paying you for this assignment, but if I were your brother...I'd make him double it."

OOOoooOOO

Joe pulled on his jeans and fastened them, then sat on the bed and gazed at Emily. She was sitting under the sheets, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her hair was tousled, her expression sleepy, and her lips swollen from kissing. He sighed and ran his knuckles along her cheek.

"You don't know how hard it is for me to leave you right now."

She smiled. "Probably as hard as it is for me to be left."

He reached for his shirt and slid an arm through the sleeve. "What are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I think I'll head over to the library and do a little more research with Guillaume."

Joe raised an eyebrow. That was a man's name. The French version of William. "Who's Guillaume?"

Emily giggled. "He's a monk, Joe."

"Oh, well I guess that's okay, then." He began buttoning his shirt.

"Of course it is," she replied. "Even if he wasn't, you're going back to a high school girl who has a crush on you."

Joe rolled his eyes, leaned over, and touched his lips to hers.

"Please don't remind me. I want to stay here more than anything. You have no idea how hard this is."

Emily brushed away that sweep of blond hair that always seem to fall across his forehead and studied his face.

"She's going to know."

He was puzzled. "Who's going to know what?"

"Kathy. That's her name, right?"

Joe nodded.

"She's going to know something has changed." Emily smiled at him and ran her finger across his lower lip. "You look very...satisfied."

Joe reached out and pulled her into him for a hug. She had no idea how much he'd needed to be with her today. And it wasn't just his body. His soul needed that connection with hers. Just being with her steadied him, strengthened him, centered him. He'd gotten to the point where he didn't feel whole without her. And instead of that kind of dependence on another person terrifying him, he craved it. She had changed his world over the course of one year, and he never wanted to go back to his previous "girl of the week" life again.

"That's because I am." He slid his hand under the sheet and groaned as he felt her bare skin. "I've got to leave now, or else I'll be back under the covers with you."

He kissed her deeply. "I love you. I'll see you again soon, I promise."

Emily returned the kiss and held him to her tightly. "Solve this case quickly, Joe, okay?"

He nodded and brushed his lips over the top of her head. "I will."

He reluctantly tore himself out of her arms and walked to the door. Emily followed, dragging the top sheet loose and wrapping it around herself.

"I love you," she whispered as he opened the door.

For an answer, he brought her hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed her ring. Then he walked slowly away, unable to tear his gaze from her. She looked like an angel wrapped up in that white bedsheet with the light from her room glowing behind her.

He didn't miss the irony of having to leave his little bit of heaven for a return trip back to his own personal hell...otherwise known as Kathy Martin.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **A huge thank you to Caranath, max2013, Guest, Stork Hardy, zenfrodo, Lady Emily, Jackie, bhar, Vinsmouse, and catlover1033 for leaving reviews! Much appreciated! Back to the mystery, and thanks to all who are reading!

Chapter 11

Frank stood up from the sofa in the suite when Joe entered.

"Well, it's about damn time you got back."

Joe grinned broadly. "Sorry, I was a little distracted."

"A little?" Frank motioned for him, and Joe crossed the room and stood next to his brother.

"What's up?"

"Just a heads up. Kathy is hopping mad that you took off for so long."

Joe rolled his eyes.

"I told her you were following up on a lead." Frank chuckled. "From now on, she wants me doing that while you play boyfriend-bodyguard."

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to sit around babysitting her? Not actually working to solve this case?"

"Well, you _are_ supposed to be protecting her," Frank pointed out.

Joe sighed. "Yeah. Listen, let's really concentrate on finding out who this creep is and wrapping this up, okay?"

Frank smiled knowingly. Joe was clearly frustrated by the way things were going on this case. Frank had always considered himself the more patient of the two brothers, but even he knew that Kathy would have worked his very last nerve by now if he'd been in Joe's position.

"Too much Kathy or not enough Emily?"

"Both," Joe replied.

Frank was about to say something sympathetic when the doorbell to the suite rang. Simone came out of her room to answer it and wheeled in a room service tray.

"Dinner for the girls," she said, pushing the cart into their bedroom.

Frank turned back to his brother. "So everything's okay between you and Emily?"

Joe grinned. "Yeah. Thanks for your help, bro."

"No worries, Joe. I sure don't want you to mess up the best thing that's ever–"

A scream from the girls' room interrupted Frank. The brothers exchanged looks then dashed in. Kathy was staring a piece of paper lying on top of her dinner plate, her eyes wild with fright.

"What is it?" Joe demanded.

Simone reached forward to pick up the paper, but Frank held back her arm.

"Don't touch it," he warned. He gingerly took the note by the corner and read it aloud. "I watched you skiing today. I watch you everywhere."

Kathy grabbed onto Joe. "That man we saw at the bottom of the slopes. It must be him." She threw her arms around Joe's neck. "I'm so scared."

Joe patted her back soothingly. "We'll get him, Kathy. Don't worry."

She nodded against his chest, then pulled away quickly. Frank noticed her lips tighten into a straight line as she crossed her arms in front of her. _She's not happy about something, _he thought as he moved closer to his brother.

"What's the matter?" Joe asked.

"You smell like perfume," she whispered in a low voice.

Frank smiled to himself. Emily's perfume, no doubt. How was Joe going to explain that?

"I do shower you know," Joe replied. "I can't help it if the French soaps here are so girly."

That was good. Frank observed his brother for a moment. He was amazingly talented at this subterfuge thing. Frank doubted that he could have done the same thing nearly as smoothly as Joe did. One point for the little bro.

Kathy continued to stare at him for a moment then looked at the note again.

"How did it get on my dinner plate?"

And she bought it. Two points for the little bro.

Simone spoke up. "Someone must have put it there in the kitchen."

"What exactly happened when you brought the cart in here?" Frank asked, turning his attention back to case.

Lauren walked over and stood near Frank. "Simone wheeled it in and called out 'dinner', and Kathy took off the plate covers and screamed."

"It was sitting right on top of my plate," Kathy said.

"This meal was the one you ordered?" Joe asked.

Kathy nodded.

"How did you order your food?" Frank sat down on the edge of the bed.

Kristen shrugged. "We were all in the living room. Louis asked if anyone was as hungry as he was, and we all said 'yes.'"

"So did you all just call out what you wanted?" Joe asked.

"Yeah." Lauren sat down next to Frank. "We passed around a menu and told Simone and she called it in."

"Okay." Frank stood up quickly when Lauren rested her hand on his thigh. "Joe and I are going to talk some things over and go visit the kitchen staff. You might as well eat your dinner."

Kathy eyes widened, and she grabbed onto Joe's arm while her voice rose in pitch. "You're not going to leave me alone again Joe, are you?"

Joe sounded resigned. "No. I'll stay here in the suite."

"Thank you." Kathy visibly relaxed as she reached for her dinner plate. "You don't think it's poisoned, do you?"

Frank smiled. "I think you're safe, Kathy. Go ahead and eat."

She pushed the plate away and sat on her bed. "Never mind. I'm not hungry anymore."

Joe gestured to Frank and the two of them walked out of the bedroom.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. It's definitely somebody in this suite." His face looked grim. "Who?"

Joe led Frank into the room they were sharing and shut the door.

"I'm pretty sure we can rule out Lauren and Tammy."

Frank nodded in agreement. "I don't think either one of them is bright enough to be behind it, but they could be putting on an act."

"It's possible." Joe grinned at his brother. "Lauren obviously has the hots for you. Maybe you should see what you can charm out of her."

"She's jail bait, Joe," Frank said dryly.

"I didn't say kiss it out of her."

Frank tossed a pillow at his head.

Joe ducked and grinned again. "Surely you can put what little of the Hardy charm you were gifted with to good use here. Flirt with her."

"I don't know if I can do that, but I will talk to her," Frank said. "Why don't you try and get some more info from Kathy? Her crush on you is colossal."

Joe shrugged. "I think she's mad at me right now. When she hugged me, she could smell Emily's perfume."

"Yeah, you do smell a little pretty," Frank teased.

Joe opened the bedroom door and walking into the living room, "Maybe. But the fantastically large dose of Hardy charm I was gifted with will overcome her annoyance. I'll go talk to her."

Frank rolled his eyes. "I'll go downstairs and check with the kitchen staff. Maybe somebody saw something."

Joe turned back to his brother. "Hey? Where's Louis?"

"I don't know," Frank admitted. "Isn't he in his room?"

Joe shook his head. "He hasn't been here since I got back."

"Are you looking for Louis?" Simone inquired as she stepped into the living room, closing Kathy's bedroom door behind her. "He went down to the lobby right after I called room service. He needed to place a call to Washington D.C., and it wasn't connecting through our room phone for some reason."

Frank gave Joe a meaningful glance then smiled at Simone. "Well, I'm going to go downstairs myself. I want to find the waiter who delivered this."

Simone nodded. "I hope you find the culprit soon. Kathy is trying her best to hide it, but I know this has upset her terribly."

OOOoooOOO

Joe leaned against the doorframe to Kathy's room, where she was seated on her bed, clutching her pillow to her chest.

"Hey, mind if I come in?"

Kristen and Lauren jumped up from their position on Lauren's bed, holding their plates in front of them. "We'll finish eating in the living room," Kristen said, hurrying past Joe.

"Yeah, we know you two probably want to be alone." Lauren smiled as Joe stepped inside the bedroom.

He strolled over to the foot of Kathy's bed and sat down. "Do you want to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" she asked, her head bent as she picked at the fabric of her bedspread.

"Tell me what you're thinking right now?"

She looked up at Joe. "I'm thinking that some lunatic really wants to hurt me this time, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it. What else would I be thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know," Joe said, leaning forward. "I just thought that my fabulous skiing earlier today would have you wondering why I wasn't trying out for the Olympic team."

She stared at him and Joe gave her a cheesy grin and raised his eyebrows. Kathy laughed out loud, then followed it up with a patently seductive smile.

Joe patted her leg, wishing Frank could have seen how easily he had accomplished his goal. Poor Frank…he just really didn't have a way with women. Too stiff and formal. Joe made a mental note to try and help his brother loosen up a bit. Then maybe he wouldn't always have to be in the position of having to come onto every woman they needed information from for their cases. It was getting exhausting.

He turned his attention back to Kathy. "That's better. Now, I don't want you worrying. Frank and I are going to find out who's behind all of this."

"I believe you," she sniffled. "What did you find out about the guy who was watching us this afternoon?"

"Oh, well, I've got some leads," Joe lied. "I just need to follow up on them."

"You promised you would stay in the suite tonight!" she wailed, clutching his arm.

"And I will. But sometimes I am required to do some actual investigating in detective work, you know."

"But you'll stay here tonight?" Kathy's voice had an anxious note in it.

Joe squeezed her hand. "Yes. You rest now. I'll be in the living room going over my notes."

Kathy nodded as she leaned back into her pillows.

"I'm feeling hungry again. Could you send Simone in here? I want her to go pick up some dinner for me." She made a face. "From some place other than the hotel kitchen."

"I'll give her the message," Joe said as he stood to leave.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy smiled knowingly as she and Bess entered their hotel room and saw Emily brushing her hair and humming to herself.

"Everything all right with Joe?"

Emily turned from the mirror. "Everything's perfect."

"Thank goodness," Nancy said, as she walked over to the closet and removed her coat.

She'd been worried ever since the incident on the slopes. She couldn't imagine Joe would actually cheat on Emily, but the whole situation looked bad on the surface. She also knew Emily wasn't well versed in the ways of undercover work yet, and seeing Joe with another woman hanging on him had to be devastating for her.

"What are the odds they'd be here at the same time we are?" Bess wondered as she flopped down on her bed and kicked off her shoes. "They must be staggering."

"Ordinarily I'd agree with you." Emily put the hairbrush on the dresser and turned around. "However, after dating Joe for a year, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of flying monkeys burst through our window right now and carried us off to Oz."

"No kidding," Bess agreed. "After that week we spent in Transylvania with Count Dracula himself, nothing really surprises me anymore either."

"The inspector wasn't really Count Dracula," Nancy said, setting her briefcase down on the desk. "That was just Joe's overactive imagination."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Bess said. "He was very adamant about not seeing that guy's reflection in the mirror.

"Well, anyway, on this case I think they're dealing with something even worse than vampires. According to Frank, Senator Martin's daughter is quite the piece of work."

Nancy pulled out some files of information she'd put together on the monastery and began flipping through them.

"Really? Do tell." Bess lay down on her stomach and rested her chin in her hands, a big grin on her face.

"I managed to snag a few moments with Frank in the...um...linen closet downstairs before I went back to the monastery this afternoon," Nancy said, staring down intently at her papers and hoping she wasn't blushing. "Anyway, Kathy is apparently very spoiled and used to getting whatever she wants. And right now, what she wants is Joe. She's driving him bonkers."

Bess laughed. "I would pay good money to see that."

"That's not all," Nancy continued. "She's also brought along two of her giggly girlfriends. And one of them keeps trying to make the moves on Frank."

"What is it with kids today?" Bess shook her head. "Doesn't this bug you, Nancy? Someone hot after Frank?"

"Nope." She looked up and gave Bess a sly grin. "In the words of a famous country singer...'She ain't woman enough to take my man.'"

Bess burst out laughing. "Would you say that in front of Frank, please? I want to watch him turn ten different shades of red when you do."

Emily smiled. "He will, too."

"Better idea..." Bess sat up. "How about you two start singing it the next time we run into them?"

Nancy and Emily exchanged glances, then looked back at Bess.

"Maybe we'll hum it," Emily said.

"Deal," Bess replied. Then she reached for the phone. "What do you say we call room service? I'm starving."

OOOoooOOO

"Is she feeling any better?" Frank asked, as Joe entered their bedroom after his conversation with Kathy.

Joe shrugged. "She's not freaking out."

"That's good." Frank pulled his shirt off over his head. "Maybe she'll keep her hands to herself for awhile then."

Although he wasn't optimistic. Girls like Kathy Martin weren't the kind to give up on something they wanted easily. And Kathy wanted Joe.

"Doubt it." Joe bounced onto his bed and leaned against the headboard. "What did you learn down in the kitchen?"

"Not much." Frank slid off his jeans. "They got the dinner order, filled it, and the waiter delivered it. I asked him about a note being placed with the food and he knew nothing about it."

Frank walked into the bathroom, clad only in his boxers, and turned on the shower. "The waiter said that he knocked on the door to the suite, announced that the food had arrived, then Simone opened the door and he wheeled in the cart."

"Well, we watched Simone push the cart into their bedroom," Joe called out. "Do you think she could have somehow put the note there without us seeing?"

"It's a possibility."

Frank stepped back into the bedroom to grab his razor. He was getting frustrated. There were absolutely no leads in this case. How could that be? Every single time they thought they might have something, it turned into a dead end. "Unfortunately, we seem to be lacking something important for each one of our theories."

"What's that?"

"Proof."

"Yeah," Joe agreed, punching his pillow into the shape he wanted it, before laying back against it.

"Oh, hey, I did learn something important this afternoon," Frank remembered.

Joe raised his eyebrows.

"That guy you saw on the slopes? The one you thought was watching you and Kathy?"

"Yeah?"

"Louis said he's a federal agent. Kathy's father has several of them here watching her." Frank pulled his razor and a can of shaving cream out of his bag. "He has a photo of the guy. You might want to check it out. I already have a call in to Dad to confirm his ID."

Joe stood up. "If it turns out to be the guy and he really is a fed, I want to talk to him."

"Louis could probably arrange it."

"Does this mean Louis is off our suspect list?"

"No," Frank replied. "It just means that he knows a federal agent."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," Joe muttered.

Frank knew that his frustration with this case was nothing compared to Joe's. His brother could only be expected to take so much of the senator's daughter and her manipulative ways.

He looked at Joe's scowling expression and resolved that he was going to put twice as much effort into getting this stalker. Besides, he had his own selfish reasons. He wanted to be done with this case so he could help Nancy with hers. A stolen religious artifact sounded much more interesting than babysitting a bunch of hormonal teenage girls.

"Hey," Frank called out to his brother. "We're going to get this guy. By the end of the week, Joe. I promise."

He just hoped it was a promise he could keep.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Thanks so much Caranath, max2013, Lady Emily, zenfrodo, Jackie, Stork Hardy, ILoveMom, Guest, bhar, Vinsmouse and Leya for reviewing! You're the best! Time for some revelations...and maybe an answer to one case. ;) Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 12

The next day, Nancy and Emily were poring over documents in the monastery library with Guillaume assisting them by retrieving books and articles from the shelves and files.

"Okay, so what's this about a fire?" Nancy asked. "My French just isn't that great."

Emily leaned over to the book Nancy was reading. "Um, this is talking about the first chapel that the Madonna statue and the monstrance were in. It was almost destroyed by a fire in the thirteen hundreds."

"And they survived?"

Emily continued reading. "Yes. And the church members considered that to be a miracle. The monstrance had been removed earlier that day, taken by the priest who was saying Mass in a neighboring village. The statue remained in the chapel and the fire left her quite charred, but the local population didn't want anything about her changed or restored. They wanted to remember what they felt was a miracle."

"But the church suffered a lot of damage. Is that why they brought the statue here?"

"I don't know," Emily replied. "This article doesn't explain how or why the statue got here. I need to do more research on that angle."

Nancy nodded, and looked up as the library doors flew open. Bess stood there, waving an envelope, an excited grin on her face. "Guess what?"

"Um, you just met a celebrity? A hunky, male celebrity?" Nancy offered.

"No. Unfortunately." Bess pulled a thick piece of vellum paper out of the envelope. "But this is just as good, because I think it will lead to that. The famous annual Winter Ball of St. Sylvie."

"The what?" Nancy asked, only half listening to her friend as she flipped through another voluminous tome on church history.

"A ball. A dance. Fancy dresses. Handsome men." Bess stood at the table, opposite Nancy and Emily.

"A pumpkin. Four white mice. A fairy godmother. A glass slipper," Nancy said with a smile as she looked up at her. "We all know the story, Bess."

Bess slapped the invitation on the table and tapped it dramatically with her index finger. "The St. Sylvie Winter Ball. It's this weekend, and I think we should go."

Emily picked up the invitation and read it. "Bess, we need dates for this."

Bess waved her hand. "Minor detail."

"Really?" Nancy asked. "In case you've forgotten, Frank and Joe are working undercover here."

"So? Go with Marco and Matteo." Bess gave them a sly grin. "Lars has already asked me, and he mentioned that the two hunky Italian men would be interested in accompanying both of you."

"I wouldn't be comfortable doing that," Emily said.

"Then go with him." Bess pointed to Guillaume, who looked up questioningly.

"Oh yeah, that'll work." Emily giggled. "Me in an evening gown. Him in his monk robes."

"Well, Joe couldn't possibly object to that," Bess pointed out.

"Wanna bet?" Emily said.

Bess perched on the edge of the table, a gleam in her eye. "Fine. I just thought that maybe you two would want to make an appearance...seeing as Joe and Frank are going to be there. With dates. That aren't you."

Nancy was startled. And felt a twinge of something very similar to jealousy. But how could that be? She wasn't the jealous type. She was calm, rational and understanding. Especially where detective work was concerned. And Frank was on assignment. So clearly, she wasn't jealous.

"How do you know they're going?"

"Overheard the bratty princesses in the lobby squealing about it." She smiled in Nancy's direction. "Oh, and Frank has two dates. _Both_ of Kathy's little friends are taking him as their escort."

Nancy's eyes widened. Okay, now that was a bit much. Two dates? She definitely wasn't jealous though. Just curious.

"Yeah," Bess said. "So, if you want to kind of keep an eye on Frank and Joe, and check out the little teeny boppers hanging all over them..."

"Fine," Nancy said. "Get us dates. As long as they understand that we're only going as friends. Otherwise, no deal."

Bess waved her hand through the air. "No problem. Besides, this might help you with your case. Everyone who's anyone in this town will be there. Maybe you can pick up a clue about the monastery."

"That's true," Nancy agreed. "I'll ask Father Bertrand who might be worth talking to."

Bess clapped her hands together. "Now, it's time to shop for ball gowns. I'll pick up something for you two as well. Just leave it all to me," she crooned in a sing-song voice.

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Emily said, as Bess skipped through the library doors.

OOOoooOOO

Joe attempted again to get his bowtie to look right, then undid it and threw it on the dresser. "I hate these things."

Frank chuckled. "Here, I'll do it." He put it under Joe's collar and deftly tied it. "There. Now leave it alone or you'll mess it up."

Joe tugged at his collar. "I don't see why we have to go to this stupid dance anyway."

"Because your girlfriend wants to," Frank explained as he slid on his tuxedo jacket. "And her father is paying us big bucks to watch her."

"She's not my girlfriend. My girlfriend is three floors down trying to work on some case with Nancy, which I don't like, and having to pretend I don't exist."

Joe sat on the bed, grabbed his shoes and jammed his feet into them. He had reached his limit, and it was going to take every ounce of charm and skill he had to pull off this assignment. Knowing Emily was here and that she was working with Nancy on a case was driving him crazy. Nancy had gotten Emily into some serious situations in the past that Joe still hadn't completely recovered from, and while he knew Nancy had definitely learned her lesson, he was under no delusions about the inherent dangers of detective work. Sometimes you just couldn't prevent bad stuff from happening, no matter how good or careful you were.

"Hey, I heard from Dad earlier," Frank said, changing the subject. "The agent checked out, and Dad also said that Senator Martin has three other agents here as well."

"Swell." Joe tied his shoelaces rapidly and stood, reaching for his tuxedo jacket. "So we really are just her babysitters."

Frank grinned. "Very well paid baby sitters." He slipped his wallet into his pants pocket. "And I don't care how many agents he has tailing her...we're going to be the ones to solve this case."

"Well, I don't know how, if we're always busy skiing, shopping or going to some damn ball," Joe replied, frustration evident in his voice.

"Dad said the senator seems to think the harassment is the result of some legislation he's trying to push through the senate at the moment," Frank explained. "He's gotten some threats at his office, and the feds seem to think that whoever is threatening Kathy is in D.C., not here."

"That doesn't make sense, Frank." Joe walked toward the bedroom door. "How do you explain the local phone calls, the notes, the ransacking? Unless this guy has figured out how teleportation works, he's not in D.C."

Frank grinned. "I didn't say it made sense, I said it was the government's theory."

"That explains it, then." Joe sighed and opened the bedroom door. "Okay, let's get this nightmare over with."

"Brace yourself for the mauling," Frank teased.

"Shut up," Joe responded, ignoring Frank's laughter as he stepped into the living room, Kathy's squeals already grating on his nerves.

"Oh, honey, you look so handsome!" Kathy ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks. You look very nice, too," Joe said.

He was trying. It was hard, but he wasn't going to blow his cover.

"We need a picture." She looked around. "Louis? Where are you?"

He moved from his position at the bar, taking the camera Kathy shoved at him.

"Oh goodie. Prom pictures." He snapped on the flash cube. "Too bad we don't have one of those gosh awful plastic arches or something for you to stand under. Make it look official."

"Just take the photo, please," Kathy ordered.

She and Joe stood by the fireplace. Kathy with an ear-splitting grin on her face and Joe with an expression slightly more pleasant than a grimace. Louis snapped several photos then gestured for Frank to take Joe's place with Tammy and Lauren at his side.

Frank posed willingly for a few silly shots, including one with both girls kissing him on either cheek, and then said, "We'd better get going if we don't want to be late."

Louis waved the camera and smirked at Frank and Joe. "I'll make sure to get plenty of copies of the prints for you. I've no doubt you'll want to frame them all."

OOOoooOOO

Emily held up the evening gown Bess has purchased for her the previous afternoon.

"What on earth is this made of?" she exclaimed, touching the filmy material. "Gauze?"

"It's diaphanous chiffon," Bess said. "Isn't it dreamy?"

"I can't wear this in public," Emily protested. "Good grief, you can see right through it."

"It's lined. No one will be able to see anything. I promise," Bess insisted. "This will look spectacular on you. Trust me. I know these things."

"She does," Nancy admitted. "The only reason I've ever looked decent at any formal event in my life is because Bess dressed me."

Emily was doubtful. The material seemed to be completely transparent, and she wasn't interested in making a spectacle out of herself or giving the entire room a free peep show, but maybe Bess really did know what she was doing.

"All right, I'll try it on."

Bess gave her a dimpled smile. "Don't worry Emily, you have an amazing figure. You will make jaws drop in that. Especially Joe's."

Nancy burst out laughing. "She'll be lucky if he doesn't fly across the room and throw a tablecloth over her."

Emily slipped the gown on and turned toward Bess. "Help zip me up, please."

"Oh my gosh, that is stunning!"

Bess stepped back and took in the silvery fabric that went from the halter neck at the top to the draping of her v-neck bodice, to a cinched in waist and a flowing skirt.

"It's gorgeous, Em," Nancy agreed.

Emily turned and surveyed herself in the full-length mirror attached to the bathroom door. The dress was incredible…and not transparent. It was flowing, ethereal and beautiful. The perfect gown for a winter ball.

"You are amazing, Bess. I never would have picked this off the rack. But I like it." She gave a half turn. "A lot."

Bess beamed as she helped Nancy tug up her gown. "It's nothing. I just love playing dress-up."

"Am I supposed to be able to breathe in this?" Nancy asked as Bess zipped up her strapless, form-fitting, taffeta gown.

"That's not important," Bess said as she turned her around.

"I beg to differ," Nancy protested.

"Look." Bess shoved her in the direction of the mirror.

Nancy's jaw went slack. "Is that really me?"

Bess had an ear to ear grin. "I just knew this indigo color would be perfect on you. It makes your eye color pop, and really goes with your hair."

"And wow, Nance, what a body," Emily said. "Frank won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

Emily watched as Nancy gazed thoughtfully at her reflection. The diagonal pleating of the fabric did put curves in all the right places on Nancy's athletic frame, and the slit up her thigh made her legs look a million miles long. Frank's jaw would be scraping the floor.

"Another gold star for you, Bess," Nancy said. "I love it."

Bess bowed dramatically, then moved a chair in front of the bathroom sink. "Okay, ladies, we're not finished. Time to do your hair."

OOOoooOOO

Joe glanced at his watch. "Isn't it time we got this show on the road?"

Louis had gone to the restaurant downstairs, so Kathy had snatched the camera to take photos with her girlfriends. Joe didn't think he could stand one more second of the giggling and squealing.

"Of course, honey. I know how you hate to be late." Kathy paused and glanced at her reflection in the mirror above the bar. "Oh my gosh, I forgot my earrings! I can't leave without those. They're the diamond ones Daddy got me for my eighteenth birthday."

Joe sighed heavily. "Fine, go put them on. I'll wait. But if you take more than five minutes, you'll have to go yourself." He really hoped he could hold her to that, but he knew it was just wishful thinking.

Kathy leaned in and kissed his cheek, while Joe tried hard not to flinch.

"I'll be back in two minutes," she said.

Frank nodded his head at Joe from the front door to the suite. "We'll meet you in the ballroom."

"Yeah, fine."

Joe flopped down on the couch and Kathy hurried back to her bedroom to get her earrings. He noticed her evening bag lying beside him.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he reached for it and peered inside. Two envelopes were tucked into a pocket in the lining, along with the tickets for tonight's ball. Carefully sliding one out, he noticed it wasn't sealed. He quickly removed the note card inside and read it. _You'll never escape from me, Kathy. I'll find you anywhere._

Joe replaced the note and reached for the other envelope. It, too, was not sealed. He slipped out the card inside. _I saw you at the ball tonight. Did you see me? You were the most beautiful woman in the room._

Fury began boiling up inside of Joe as he realized what was going on. He had been played. Kathy was her own damned stalker.

Joe carefully put her bag back where he had found it, then stood and moved over to the bar. He paced back and forth thinking. He had to have this right before he accused her of anything. Could someone else have put those notes in her purse hoping she'd find them tonight? That was a possibility. If he accused her now, that's certainly what she'd claim. He had no proof that she was behind any of this. He felt it in his gut though, and that feeling was never wrong.

Kathy's voice echoed from the bedroom interrupting his thoughts. "I'll be right there. I'm just putting the last earring in."

"Fine," Joe called to her.

He needed to talk to Frank about this. If his theory was right, then Kathy was never in any real danger. It also explained why he hadn't been able to uncover any legitimate clues in this case. There weren't any.

He shook his head. If Kathy was behind all this nonsense, then she had some serious mental problems. Problems he thought they might need to consult a professional about. He decided he'd better call his father and ask him to check with a psychiatrist on how to handle the whole thing. He wasn't sure that openly confronting her would be the best way to go.

Kathy strode into the room, beaming. "Okay, now I'm ready. Aren't the earrings beautiful? I'll bet you don't know too many girls like me who get two carat diamond studs for their birthday."

Joe watched as Kathy picked up her evening bag and searched through her purse. She would not be able to get the tickets to the ball without seeing the notes. If she said something, then maybe his theory was wrong. If she didn't, Joe knew for sure that she was behind this whole mess.

Kathy pulled the tickets from the side pocket with a smile on her face and no mention of the notes that Joe knew she'd just pushed aside. She was guilty as hell.

"No, Kathy, I can say for certain that I don't know any girls like you at all."

She strolled over to Joe, linked her arm through his and handed him the tickets to the dance and they left the suite. "And I doubt you ever will. I'm one of a kind."

_Thank goodness for that,_ Joe thought as they left the suite.

When they arrived in the lobby, Joe spotted Frank outside of the ballroom, handing his tickets to the attendant at the door. Joe needed to talk to him before this shindig began. He turned to Kathy. "Why don't you let me have our tickets and I'll check us in."

Kathy pressed them into Joe's hand and called for Tammy and Lauren, who were already headed for the ballroom doors. "Let's go to the restroom first."

Perfect, Joe thought. Girls took forever when they went to the bathroom in a pack. That should give him just enough time to explain things to Frank. He hurried up to his brother. "I need to talk to you. Now."

Frank took his ticket stubs from the attendant. "One moment," he said with a smile, then looked at Joe. "What it is?"

Joe glanced at the attendant, then tugged on Frank's arm. "Not here."

They walked over to a corner of the lobby and Joe peered at the ladies' room door to make sure Kathy hadn't emerged yet. "I've solved the case."

"What?"

"Our case. I know who the stalker is, and you're never going to believe it."

Frank crossed his arms in front of him. "Try me."

"It's Kathy. She's behind all of this. When she went to get her earrings in the hotel room, I saw her purse on the couch and checked it out."

"And?"

"She put two notes from her so-called stalker in there. Both of them to be delivered tonight. One at the ball, and then one in the hotel room, based on what they said."

"How do you know she put them in there? Maybe someone else did and she just hadn't seen them before you left the room."

Joe shook his head. "No. They were tucked in a pocket with the tickets to the ball. I left them there to test that theory. If she didn't plant the notes herself, she would have seen them when she got the tickets and freaked out. She didn't. She's the stalker, Frank. This is just some kind of sick game she's playing."

Frank rubbed his hand over his chin. "Well, that explains a lot. But you know, Kathy would just deny everything if we accused her of writing those notes, and since we don't have the evidence in our possession, we don't even have any proof they exist. And accusing a very powerful senator's daughter of a crime without the evidence in hand would destroy our reputations in ten seconds flat."

"We have to set a trap," Joe said. And the sooner, the better. He was done with this nutcase chick.

"Yeah, but what kind of trap?" Frank asked. "It would help if we knew her motivation for doing this."

"Her glaring need to be the constant center of attention?"

"I think it's more than that, Joe. I think this is about you."

"Swell. So what you're really saying is that she's _my_ stalker?"

Frank chuckled. "Interesting twist in the case, huh?"

Joe rolled his eyes, then stiffened as Kathy's shrill voice called to him from across the lobby.

"Honey! I'm ready to dance the night away!"

"And I'm ready to jump off a bridge," Joe muttered, as Frank laughed out loud.

"Try not to look like you're on your way to the guillotine," Frank said, as the girls hurried toward them. "You've solved it, Joe. It's almost over."

_Then why do I feel like nothing could be further from the truth?_ Joe thought as Kathy flung her arms around his waist and dragged him through the ballroom door.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **A million thanks to Caranath, Max2013, ILoveMom, zenfrodo, catlover1033, Stork Hardy, Kenna, bhar, Leya, Vinsmouse, and Jackie for reviewing! And to those who are reading, thanks to you as well!

Chapter 13

Joe repeatedly tapped his knife against the side of his crystal goblet.

Kathy turned and stared at him. "Something wrong?"

_Yeah, something's wrong, _Joe thought. _You're a lying, little brat who's manipulated everyone around you just to get your way, not to mention all the hours of my life you wasted while I tried to find your so-called "stalker." _

"Joe?"

He shook his head and tugged at his bowtie. "No, these things just make me a little antsy."

She smiled. "Good, then we can burn off all that extra energy on the dance floor later."

"Yeah," Joe said with a forced smile. _Kill me now._

His eyes wandered to the main door of the ballroom, and his breath caught. Emily, Nancy and Bess were entering the room with three men. His gaze narrowed. The one with Bess was the ski instructor, Lars. Who were the others?

He picked up his goblet and held it to his lips, continuing to observe as they made their way through the crowd. He watched Emily closely as she came nearer to his table. She was so beautiful. Her hair was gathered up into some complicated style that Joe was sure had taken hours to create.

His gaze lowered to take in her evening gown and his eyes widened. What in the hell was she wearing? The material was so light and filmy that it seemed to float over her. Except where it was clinging. There it looked transparent. And it was clinging in all the right places.

"Honey, are you sure nothing's the matter?"

Kathy was staring at him, and Joe tried to school his expression into a look of perfect boredom.

"Um, no. Everything's fine."

His eyes continued to follow Emily as she took her seat at a table two away from his. Some dark-haired Adonis pulled out her chair and smiled at her in a way that made Joe want to punch his lights out.

Emily lifted her head and Joe caught her gaze, his heart contracting at the sadness in her eyes. He tore himself away when Kathy tugged on his arm demanding his attention.

"Oooh, look, they have champagne!"

She gestured across the room where waiters were pouring bottles of the expensive elixir down a tower of champagne glasses that made up the centerpiece of one of the lavish buffet tables.

"You're underage," Joe reminded her.

"Not here I'm not. They don't have a drinking age."

"Your father wouldn't like it if I let you drink."

"My father isn't here," Kathy said. "And I want some champagne."

"No," Joe said, his tone a little harsher than he intended.

Kathy pouted.

"Look Kathy, when someone is sending you threatening letters and making harassing phone calls, the last thing you need is for alcohol to muddle your brain," Joe explained. "If there's a crisis, I need you to be clear-headed. Got it?"

Her eyes grew wide, but she nodded wordlessly.

OOO

"Hey, you two, don't you want any appetizers?" Frank asked as he approached the table with Lauren and Tammy. He held up a small plate, with various hors d'oeuvres on it. "They're really good."

"I'm fine," Joe said.

"I'll share some of theirs." Kathy snatched a bacon wrapped scallop from Lauren's plate.

"You okay?" Frank whispered to Joe as he took a seat next to him. His brother looked extremely irritated. More so than usual, and he knew something was up.

"Three o'clock," Joe said.

Frank turned to his right and spotted Nancy, Bess, and Emily with their respective dates. Nancy gave him a tiny smile.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Frank demanded. "And who are those guys?"

"That's what I want to know," Joe said.

"Maybe they have something to do with their case," Frank suggested, winking at Nancy.

"I thought you said they were working in a monastery. Do those guys look like monks to you, Frank?" Joe hissed. "They do not look like monks."

No, they didn't look like monks. They looked like models. Very stylish, tanned, excessively handsome models, who did nothing but lift weights all day. He doubted these guys lived anything remotely close to the monastic lifestyle.

"Well, I'm going to find out." Frank's eyes met Nancy's and he gestured slightly toward the champagne tower. Nancy nodded.

"Excuse me," Frank said to the girls. "I'll be right back."

He stood and walked toward the table where waiters were handing out filled glasses.

"Who are the guys?" Frank said, as Nancy came within earshot.

"Friends of Bess," Nancy replied, not looking at him. "They're part of our cover. They're skiers. And they already know we have boyfriends we're very committed to."

"Good," he replied. That eliminated the need for Frank to punch the guy into next week. Which he would've hated doing in a tux. He'd lost too many cleaning deposits that way.

He smiled as he accepted a glass from one of the waiters, then turned in Nancy's direction. "You look incredible, by the way."

"Thank you, Mr. Hardy. As do you." Nancy raised her glass of champagne toward him slightly. "I hope your _two_ dates appreciate how lucky they are to have you as an escort."

Frank gave her what he hoped was a devastatingly handsome grin. "Two of them doesn't even come close to one of you, baby."

Nancy blushed. "Can I see you later?"

"Is that a proposition?" Frank took a sip of his drink.

"You'd better believe it," she said.

"I'll figure out something," he said to her as he turned to walk back to his table, unable to keep the huge smile off his face.

OOOoooOOO

Emily looked up as Nancy returned to their table with a glass of champagne in her hand and a flushed look on her face.

"I would have gotten that for you," Marco said to her. "You only needed to ask me."

"That's okay," Nancy said. "I wanted to stretch my legs for a bit."

She leaned toward Emily. "His first question was, 'who are the guys?'"

Emily smiled a little. "I wasn't trying to make Joe jealous."

"I know." Nancy patted her hand. "But it's good for him all the same."

"It's just that he looks so miserable." Emily watched as Kathy clung to Joe's arm with both hands as he stared at the table, playing with his silverware.

Bess gave Kathy a thoughtful stare. "You know, what they say is true. Money can't buy taste. That red gown looks hideous on her and what's up with her hair? It looks like she stuck a dead bird on top of her head."

Emily giggled and Bess smiled at her as she leaned across the table and spoke in a low voice. "That's better. Don't worry for one second about Joe. He can't keep his eyes off you."

"I'm not worried about Joe," she replied. "I do feel bad that he's stuck with someone who makes him so uncomfortable."

"Hey girls," Marco interrupted. "What on earth are you two whispering about?"

Bess gave him a disarming smile. "Girl talk." She touched Lars on the arm. "How do you feel about some champagne?"

He smiled and led her away, while Matteo looked down at Emily. "Can I bring you a glass?"

"Sure," she replied, thinking it might actually improve her mood a bit. "Would you mind getting some appetizers, too? I can't drink on an empty stomach."

"Of course." He reached for her hand and kissed it. "I'll be right back."

Nancy bent her head toward Emily's as Matteo left the table. "Good thing those daggers coming out of Joe's eyes aren't real. Matteo would be a dead man."

Emily turned and caught Joe's gaze, trying as best as she could to reassure him without being overt. She noticed Kathy's narrow-eyed stare resting on her and quickly looked back at Nancy.

"That does look like a dead bird on her head," Emily said, and Nancy laughed out loud.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy looked around her table wondering exactly what had gone wrong. This was supposed to be a fun night. Frank looked like he was having a good time. Unless you looked closely. Kathy could tell it was all forced. He was bantering and laughing with Lauren and Tammy, but none of it was sincere. She'd become an expert at insincerity as the daughter of a senator. No one was more insincere than the D.C. crowd.

She turned to Joe, who looked all but morose, and Kathy knew it was more than the fact that he'd told her how much he hated black tie affairs and tuxedos.

He kept staring at the girls seated at the table two across from them. In particular, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off the brunette in the silver dress. She was beautiful, but she had a very handsome date of her own. What was up? And why was she looking back at Joe?

Kathy felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. That girl, whoever she was, was a definite threat to her future happiness with Joe. _I'm going to have to do some detective work of my own, _Kathy thought, as she delivered a steely cold glare in Emily's direction.

OOOoooOOO

"Here we go," Matteo said, setting down a champagne flute threaded with lacy trails of miniscule bubbles, and a small plate of appetizers in front of Emily. "I hope you like what I chose."

Emily had no appetite, but she didn't want to be rude. She smiled and took a sip of her drink.

"They're perfect. And the champagne is delicious."

She nibbled at the hors d'oeuvres as Nancy gazed around the room.

"Do you know the mayor of St. Sylvie?" Nancy asked Marco.

"We've met," he replied. "He came to welcome us to the village when we began our training program earlier this winter."

"Really?" Nancy asked. "Is he here yet?"

Marco looked around the room. "I think he's over by the entrance. Talking to that American actor."

"American actor?" Bess sat up straight and looked intently toward the other side of the room. She sighed. "Oh, that's Brandon Talbot. He's so dreamy."

Lars sniffed. "What? That little guy? You've got to be kidding."

Bess slipped her hand through Lars' arm. "Well, he's not half as dreamy as you are, but he's still very famous in the States."

At that moment, two stately and very attractive young women approached the table. "Ah, Matteo," a beautiful blonde with a French accent purred. "I thought you were going to call me after our evening together last week."

Matteo reddened and cast a sidelong glance at Emily. "Um, I thought you said you had a photo shoot in Paris, Josette."

She pouted and slid into the chair next to Matteo. "I've been back for three whole days, mon cher."

Emily, who hadn't really paid attention to the model, was instead stealing glances in Joe's direction and watching uncomfortably while Kathy tried to feed him appetizers from her plate. This whole evening had been a mistake. Undercover or not, Emily could not sit and watch Kathy hang all over Joe and make kissy faces at him for one more minute. Not without puking.

"I'm so sorry, but I'm going to need to excuse myself for a moment."

She stood and Matteo grabbed her hand, a look of concern on his face. "Is everything all right?" He glanced over at the model, then back at Emily. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know she would be here."

Emily was actually glad Josette had shown up, since she felt like she was probably in the running for 'worst date of the year'. She didn't want Matteo to feel bad or guilty though, so she figured she'd better make up some sort of plausible excuse for having to leave so suddenly.

"Everything's fine. I-I just forgot something in my room that I need. I have allergies and I left my medicine up there."

"Can I come with you?" he asked.

"No." Emily shook her head. "It'll just take me a minute. Please, stay here."

Matteo furrowed his brow. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Emily said with a little smile as she stood, grabbing her evening bag. She knew Josette would seize the opportunity to move right in. If Emily weren't so worried about Joe, she would have enjoyed seeing her operate.

OOOoooOOO

Joe watched as Emily got up from her chair. She leaned over, whispered something to the guy she was with, and walked out the door. Where was she going? She looked upset to him. If that guy said anything inappropriate to her, Joe was going to deck him.

"Excuse me for a moment everyone," Joe said as he stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kathy demanded.

"Can't explain right now," he hissed. "I need to check out something suspicious."

"What?" Kathy looked around. "There's nothing suspicious here."

"Kathy, please." Joe shook off her hands, and shot an imploring look in Frank's direction.

Frank nodded. "Go catch up to her," he whispered as Joe stood up and paused behind his brother's chair.

Frank gestured for him to bend down, and he spoke into his brother's ear. "I got this for me and Nan, but I can get another room. Senator Martin's paying us more than enough to cover it."

Joe gave him a grateful look as he accepted a key from Frank's hand and headed toward another exit from the ballroom.

OOOoooOOO

Joe watched Emily hurry through the lobby and he followed her quickly. Cutting down an adjacent hallway, he positioned himself in a niche in the wall. As Emily rounded the corner, he called out, "Hey, beautiful."

"Joe," Emily breathed.

He held out his arms and she fell into them. Joe stepped back into the niche and pulled her into him tightly.

"Mmmm," he whispered, burying his face in her neck. He breathed in her familiar scent as he ran his hands along her bare back, his arms holding her close, then closer still.

As they embraced each other, Joe felt all the tension from the previous few days drain away. He needed this woman, needed her in his life every day, and being forced to be away from her was more than he could stand right now. Especially since the situation keeping them apart was all based on a lie.

He kissed her neck and felt her shiver. He loved the way she responded to his slightest touch, his most gentle caress. He kissed her again and felt Emily's arms tighten around his neck.

"Joe," she said on a breathy sigh.

He leaned back slightly and stared into the green eyes he'd missed so much. She smiled at him and his heart melted. He took her face in his hands and leaned his forehead against hers. "You feel so good."

Emily closed her eyes and Joe brought his mouth over hers and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips as they broke apart.

She reached her hand behind his head, pulling him closer and kissing him longingly.

Joe groaned low and held her against him as the kiss continued. He felt his mind growing fuzzy, and knew he would have to stop before someone saw them in the hallway. He broke away reluctantly.

"Emily," he said softly. "Listen honey, we can't stay here." He kissed her forehead.

"I know." She looked up at him with big, sad eyes and Joe felt his heart flip flop.

"No, we don't need to say goodbye." He reached into his pocket and showed her a room key. "I've got a room."

"What?" Emily was confused.

"I have a few hours off, and we can spend them with each other." He grinned at her. "That is if you don't mind being locked up in a hotel room with me."

Emily stared at the key. "Do you mean it?"

Joe nodded. "So run to your room and get what you need. Frank will fill Nancy in." He leaned in and kissed her quickly. "Then meet me upstairs."

Emily's smile was huge as she ran off, and Joe felt happier than he had in a week as he walked over to the elevators.

OOOoooOOO

Emily could hardly believe it. She was actually going to be able to spend some real time with Joe. The next time she saw Frank, she was going to give him the biggest hug she could, she thought as she approached her hotel room door.

She sighed as she thought of how wonderful it felt to have Joe's arms around her again. When she went to put her key into the lock, she noticed the door was slightly ajar. That was odd. Maybe Bess forgot to pull it shut. She pushed it open all the way, then stopped short.

"Oh, no!" she gasped as she looked around.

The room had been ransacked. Clothes were strewn everywhere, furniture was turned upside down, make-up and toiletries lay open and leaking onto the floor. She had to tell Nancy.

As she went to turn around, a hand clapped over her mouth as another one grabbed her around her waist.

Emily struggled as she felt something damp over her nose and mouth. She tried to turn her head away from the sickly sweet smell, but it was no use.

A moment later, she lost consciousness.

OOOoooOOO

Joe unlocked the door to the room Frank had reserved and smiled.

"Nice," he said aloud.

He took in the large comfortable featherbed on the bed in the center of the room and sat on it. _Oh, man, this is so soft._

He looked at the tiny stone fireplace on the far wall and the charmingly curved storybook windows overlooking the plaza far below. This was going to be perfect.

He sighed as he thought of having Emily here with him for the next few hours. After this case, he never wanted to be separated from her like this again.

He was going to have to come up with some new ground rules. Like making this relationship more permanent.

Joe smiled at that thought and then frowned as he looked down at his watch. Shouldn't she have been here by now? How long did it take a girl to collect a few overnight items? Maybe he'd head down to her room and hurry things along. He grabbed the room keys from the night table and walked out the door.

He sauntered down the hall to Emily's room, whistling to himself. He paused as he reached her door. It was flung wide open, and the damage was everywhere. He noticed something right near the entrance. Emily's evening bag. She'd just had it with her.

"No," Joe whispered. "Oh, baby, no."

**A/N 2: **And lest anyone think I'm only picking on Emily...she's not the only one who'll find trouble tonight. ;) Stay tuned. LOL


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Thank you so much Caranath, Guest, max2013, ILoveMom, zenfrodo, Lady Emily, Jackie, Vinsmouse, Guest and catlover1033 for the comments! You rock! Back to the ballroom, where of course...things are going to get worse. ) Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 14

Frank sipped his champagne while he gazed nonchalantly around the ballroom. He noticed the federal agent, whom Joe had observed skiing, standing near the buffet. Two others, whose information and photos had been in Louis's file, were seated at the table next to them, and one more was loitering by the main entrance.

Frank glanced down at Kathy, who was resting her head on the table, apparently despondent over Joe's departure. She obviously wasn't feeling the same remorse about the thousands of tax dollars spent on her protection from a non-existent stalker. Yep, Kathy Martin was truly a piece of work.

As Frank set his champagne flute down on the shimmering silver tablecloth, Kathy's head snapped up and she grabbed his arm.

"There's Joe!"

Frank looked in the direction she was pointing. His brother was in the doorway, looking agitated. Something was definitely wrong. There was no way in the world Joe would have been anywhere near the ballroom if he'd met up with Emily.

"You stay right here," Frank said. He caught the eye of one of the federal agents seated at the next table, then tilted his head slightly in Kathy's direction. The agent nodded.

"What?" Kathy was incredulous. "This is ridiculous. Now _you're _not even going to protect me?"

"Kathy, Joe and I aren't the only ones watching you. Your dad has you surrounded by agents here. You'll be fine."

"But I don't want those guys, I want Joe."

Frank ignored her as he stood and walked over to Joe.

"What is it?"

They stepped outside the ballroom, and Frank noticed the panic in his brother's eyes. "Joe, what's wrong? Where's Emily?"

Joe held out her evening bag. "Someone took her Frank. She's gone."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy looked around the ballroom. She noticed that Frank and Joe had left several minutes ago and had not yet returned. What was going on? Her curious nature got the best of her.

She leaned into Bess. "I need to check something out."

Bess rolled her eyes. "You're kidding, Nance."

"I'm not." She gestured toward Matteo and Marco who were engaged in conversation with the two models, who'd decided to take up residence at the table and grinned. "Besides, I think I'm about to be replaced."

"So that's why you're leaving?"

"No. I'm sorry, Bess, but I'm a little concerned about Emily. I kind of thought she'd be back by now. I'm just going to make sure she's all right."

"Do you need me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine."

She stood from the table, scanning the room for Frank or Joe, and when she still didn't see them, she exited through the nearest doorway.

OOOoooOOO

"What?" Frank wasn't sure he'd heard Joe right. Why on earth would Emily be missing?

"Their room's been ransacked. Everything's a mess." Joe yanked off his bowtie. "This has to have something to do with whatever's going on at the monastery."

"Maybe," Frank said.

But from what Nancy had told him, Frank didn't think her case was dangerous. Of course, any time you dealt with criminals, there was the possibility of violence, but Emily was just supposed to be doing research, not actively investigating anything.

"What do you know about their case?" Joe asked.

"Virtually nothing. Only that they're searching for a missing artifact. Nancy and I didn't exactly do much talking when I met her in the linen closet." Frank placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Listen, I'm going back to the ballroom to talk to Kathy, and let the feds in on what's happening. They'll take care of the babysitting detail for tonight. Then we're going to get Nan and figure this whole mess out."

"Damn it, what is she investigating anyway?" Joe slammed his hand against the wall in frustration.

"Hold it together, bro," Frank said. "You need to stay calm if you're going to help her."

OOOoooOOO

As Nancy left the ballroom, Frank returned through the opposite door. He took his seat and was met with a stare from Kathy.

"Where's Joe?" she demanded.

"Um, Kathy, he and I have to take care of something that came up unexpectedly. We'll be back as soon as possible."

"What?" Kathy's voice rose, and everyone at the table stared at her.

Frank rested his hand on her arm and plastered a smile on his face. He knew Kathy didn't like being told 'no,' and that was exactly what he was going to do. Although he thought he'd better do it in private, because he was pretty sure she was going to cause a scene.

"Come with me for a minute."

He led her to a quiet corner of the room.

"What do you mean 'something came up?'" Kathy asked, her hands on her hips. "He's supposed to be protecting me."

"Don't worry." Frank tried to keep his voice calm and soothing. "Your father has men watching everywhere. I promise you will be safe."

"That's not the point," Kathy said, her eyes flashing. "I want Joe."

"Kathy, in this line of work, sometimes we are required to do other things besides stand right next to the client all the time." Frank ran his hand through his hair. "Joe is trying to catch whoever is doing this. You want him caught, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Kathy faltered. "But–"

"But nothing, then. Joe will be back as soon as he possibly can." He sighed. "For now, you're stuck with the feds."

Frank watched as Kathy turned away resignedly and scanned the room. Her eyes settled on the table where Nancy and Emily had been sitting, and she frowned. His eyes narrowed. Could she possibly know what was really going on?

OOOoooOOO

Nancy gazed around the hotel lobby, looking for Frank, Joe or Emily.

_Maybe they went back to our room, _she thought, pressing the button for the elevator.

She entered and hit the button for her floor, then smiled as a man jumped inside quickly before the doors closed.

He smiled back, then grabbed her tightly, pressing a damp cloth over her nose.

_Chloroform,_ Nancy thought, before she passed out.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy was freezing. She shivered as she struggled to wake up. Her stomach was churning. Where was she? What was going on? Oh, yeah, that guy in the elevator. She struggled to remember what he looked like, but her brain felt so fuzzy. As she rolled over, she realized that her hands were tied behind her back. She felt cold, hard, stone underneath her body.

Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked, desperately trying to focus in the dim light. Someone else was lying not far from her. Who was it?

Nancy tried to lift herself up, but stopped as her stomach lurched violently.

She glimpsed a swath of shimmery white fabric out of the corner of her eye.

"Emily?"

OOOoooOOO

Bess sat at the table with her date and watched as first Emily, then Joe, then Frank, then Nancy, then Frank again left the ballroom. The main entrance was turning into a revolving door. She turned to Lars and smiled sweetly. "I'm really sorry about this, but I have to see what's happening with my friends."

He started to protest, but she held up her hand. "I'll be right back," she insisted as she left the table.

Bess grimaced as she overheard Lars talking to his companions.

"What the hell is going on around here?"

_Nancy, if you just cost me a chance to be the girlfriend of a hot, Olympic skier, I swear I will never let you forget it._

OOOoooOOO

"Nancy?" Emily asked in a hoarse whisper. "Is that you?"

Nancy shifted slightly as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where are we?"

"I-I don't know."

Nancy pushed herself up as best she could with her hands tied behind her, and tried to look around. The light was very faint, but she could make out what appeared to be stone walls. She shook her head slightly and tried to clear her thoughts.

"It looks like a basement of some sort."

"Do you think we're still in the hotel?" Emily asked, shoving herself to a sitting position.

"I can't tell."

The light was coming from above them. Nancy stared hard, trying to figure out the source.

"It's moonlight, Em. It's coming from that little window."

That little broken window with all the cold air pouring through it.

"Nancy, I think we're in–"

"The cathedral," Nancy finished. She felt the wall behind her, cold and damp.

"Why? Who would do this?"

Nancy thought for a moment, but nothing came to her. She still felt foggy from the chloroform.

"I don't know. But I think it means we must be making someone nervous with our investigation."

Emily shivered, and Nancy knew the filmy fabric of their dresses was going to offer no protection against the frigid underground temperatures.

Emily's voice wavered as she spoke. "How on earth is anybody going to find us down here?"

OOOoooOOO

Bess dashed over to Frank and Joe as they stood near the reservation desk. She noticed Joe holding Emily's evening bag.

"Would someone mind filling me in? You all were going in and out of that ballroom so fast it was making my head spin."

"Emily's gone," Joe told her in a flat voice. "And your room's been ransacked."

Bess's eyes went wide. Why did this happen on every single trip she ever took with Nancy? It was getting ridiculous.

"Is Nancy up there now?"

Frank looked at her warily. "What do you mean?"

"Sh-she left the ballroom. To go find you, I guess."

"When?"

"I don't know. Thirty minutes ago, maybe. You haven't seen her?" Bess glanced around worriedly. A ransacked room was one thing. A missing friend was another.

Frank's mouth tightened into a thin line and Bess could see his jaw clenching. "No, I haven't. Let's go upstairs to your room. Maybe she's there."

OOOoooOOO

"Back up against me, Emily," Nancy ordered. "Maybe we can undo whatever it is they've tied us up with."

Emily scooted along the stone floor until her back touched Nancy's.

"Oh, crap," Nancy muttered.

"They're plastic zip ties, aren't they?"

"Yes." Nancy sagged against Emily. "We'll never get these undone."

"Do you think there's something sharp down here we could use to cut them?"

"There might be." Nancy was not ready to admit defeat. They had to get out of here. This case had obviously taken a nasty turn and she knew she needed to solve it before it turned into an even bigger mess.

She called to Emily over her shoulder. "Press your weight against me and let's try to stand up."

After three attempts, the girls managed to struggle to their feet.

Nancy shivered as the cold, damp air in the underground room touched her bare skin. "We have to get out of here fast. We're not exactly dressed appropriately for dungeon imprisonment."

Emily tried to smile. "I'll bet Bess has the correct ensemble somewhere in that steamer trunk she brought with her."

Nancy laughed out loud. "I am sure she does."

"Why I ever thought wearing this flimsy thing would be okay for a winter ball, I'll never know," Emily lamented, her teeth beginning to chatter.

"Maybe there's a blanket down here somewhere," Nancy said, trying to stay hopeful. "Come on, let's go check."

OOOoooOOO

Bess brought her hands up to her mouth and gasped as she surveyed her hotel room.

"Now, Bess, you have to stay calm," Frank said firmly, knowing how emotional Nancy's best friend tended to be. "Don't touch anything."

He pulled her inside, and Joe followed, closing the door behind them.

"Look around," Frank continued. "Do you see anything you think might be a clue? Something that doesn't belong to any of you?"

Bess shook her head. "No, it's all ours."

She moved into the center of the room and stared. "Wait."

Bess pointed to Nancy's briefcase, turned upside down on the bed.

"Nancy had some papers in there, Frank. They're gone."

"Some papers? What kind of papers? Where did she get them?"

"I don't know. Papers from the monastery, I think. They've been trying to find out about that thingy that was stolen." Bess wrung her hands. "Oh, I can't remember what it's called. I just know that they've been doing a lot of research on it in the library and at the cathedral."

"Did Nancy mention what these papers were about or what they said?" Frank prodded.

He wanted to keep her mind focused. He couldn't afford to overlook anything that might be a clue, and unfortunately, Bess was the only one who could help him right now.

"Something about what they were looking for and how it got here. It belongs somewhere else. Or it did." She waved her hand. "I don't know. Some guy apparently stole it in the Middle Ages or something like that and brought it here."

"Who knew about this? Who knew what they were doing?" Joe demanded.

Frank was seething. His brother was not about to approach this gently with Bess…and he knew it would backfire.

"Joe, calm down." Frank's tone was measured, but it was taking all of his restraint not to tell his brother to shut the hell up. And he would have, if he hadn't already known that it would only upset Bess further.

Bess's bottom lip began to quiver and Frank knew it was all over.

"I don't know," she said, as the tears began to fall. "Honestly, I haven't paid that much attention. I've been...busy."

Joe rolled his eyes then looked at Frank. "I guess we'd better start at the monastery then."

Frank nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to get any more useful information from Bess at the moment. The important thing now was to find Nancy. After he had her back, safe and sound, he was going to let Joe have it.

"I'm coming with you," Bess insisted, grabbing a pair of jeans and a sweater off the floor. She rushed into the bathroom to change.

"Do we leave now?" Joe asked.

Frank bent his head, deep in thought. Right now, Bess was the only link they had to what was going on at the monastery. Even though he spoke French, he still thought they would get further with the monastery officials if Bess was with them. If all she did was introduce them to the people Nancy and Emily had worked with there, it was more than they had now.

"No, we may actually need her. In fact, I think she's the only one right now who can help us."

OOOoooOOO

Emily inched her way around the cellar room, but found nothing that might be of help, either in loosening their ties or providing a means of escape. She was becoming discouraged.

"This really is a dungeon. There's nothing else down here."

She jumped as she heard a scurrying sound from across the room.

"Oh no, not rats! Please not rats."

She hated rats. Especially rats locked in a dark room with her. They waited until you fell asleep and then they ate your face. She shuddered.

Nancy was still walking around, feeling the walls behind her as best she could with her hands tied. "Maybe this stone is sharp enough to cut through the plastic."

"Maybe," Emily said, feeling hopeful for the first time she'd woken up. She moved over to Nancy and joined her friend in sliding the plastic ties against the rough stone.

After a few minutes, she stopped, feeling something wet against her skin. Blood. "Nan, this isn't working. All I'm doing is giving myself road rash."

Nancy sighed and moved away from the wall. "Yeah, me too. We're not looking carefully enough. There has to be something down here that could cut these open. We've just missed it."

"There isn't anything to miss. This is a prison cell. They generally don't have sharp objects lying around." Emily began shaking. "Is it just me or is it actually getting colder down here."

"Try not to think about it," Nancy called from across the room.

Emily watched as Nancy slid her back along the wall, feeling for an opening or some movement from the stones.

Nancy paused as she came to the giant wooden planks in the middle of the wall on the far side of the room. She slammed her body against it, but even from across the small room, Emily could tell that it hadn't budged.

"I wish this door wasn't so solid." Nancy's voice was full of frustration.

"Nance, don't. You'll only hurt yourself," Emily said, sinking down to the floor. Shivering overtook her body and she was starting to feel desperate.

Nancy came over to her and slid down the wall until they were huddled together.

"Frank and Joe will find us," Nancy said.

Emily knew Nancy was trying to be reassuring, but she knew their situation was bleak. "How will they even know where to look?"

Then she sat up straight as another thought came to her. "What if whoever did this comes back?"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't think that's going to happen. I think we were dumped here because we're getting too close to figuring this whole thing out."

Emily shivered. "I wish I knew what it was we were supposedly figuring out."

"Then let's try and work it through. Did you see who took you?"

"No. He got me from behind while I was going into the hotel room. He had the rag over my face before I could even struggle."

"I don't know if it was the same guy, but someone grabbed me in the elevator," Nancy said. "All I can remember is that he was about six feet tall and had dark hair. The chloroform is making my brain foggy right now. Hopefully, I'll remember more about him later."

"Was he someone you've seen around the monastery or the hotel before?" Emily couldn't think of anyone they'd run into that would have kidnapped them and thrown them in a dungeon. Who the heck had they ticked off?

"No, I've never seen him before." Nancy shifted closer to Emily, who welcomed the warmth. "But maybe if we knew what we'd discovered, that could lead us to the kidnapper."

"Okay, what did we discover?"

Nancy sighed. "I'm not sure. Only that the monstrance and statue were removed from their original home, brought here, and never returned."

"So you think that's why we were kidnapped? That information wasn't necessarily public knowledge, but it certainly wasn't difficult to find."

"Well, maybe that's the trail we need to be following more closely. Maybe the fact that we were kidnapped after learning that is the biggest clue of all."

"It does give us a lead we didn't have before," Emily agreed.

Yes, and it is something I intend to get to the bottom of as soon as we get out of here."

The two girls sat silently for a moment. Emily shifted her weight, trying to eliminate the shaking. "If they don't find us soon, it's not going to matter."

_Because we'll be dead. _


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews, Caranath, Jackie, max2013, Lady Emily, ILoveMom, Guest, zenfrodo, catlover1033, Kenna, Stork Hardy, Vinsmouse, Leya and bhar! They are very much appreciated! Back to the monastery, and thank you to those reading!

Chapter 15

As they approached the monastery, Joe noticed that all the windows were dark. Clearly these monks were the "early to bed" type. He hurried to the entry and pulled the bell chain several times. He followed that up by pounding his fist hard against the wooden door.

After a few moments, a light came on above their heads and the door opened. Joe found himself staring into the eyes of a startled priest. The man was older, white haired, and looked as though he'd been jarred out of a sound sleep.

"Goodness gracious!" the priest exclaimed as he hastily pulled on a black cassock over his long, old-fashioned, night shirt. "What on earth is the matter?"

Bess pushed her way past Joe. "Father Bertrand, we need your help."

"Mademoiselle Marvin. Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. Nancy and Emily are missing."

The priest opened the door wide, and Bess, followed by Frank and Joe, hurried inside.

"Missing?" Father Bertrand seemed puzzled.

"We think they've been abducted," Joe said. "And we're pretty sure it has something to do with your monastery."

He didn't have time to waste, and he was fairly sure this monk was going to want a long and detailed explanation. Joe wasn't going to give it to him. He needed to find Emily.

Frank extended his hand toward the priest, who shook it gently. "I'm Frank Hardy and this is my brother, Joe."

"They're Nancy and Emily's boyfriends," Bess explained. "They're detectives, too. Although they're here on a different case."

"Why don't we all have a seat?" Father Bertrand suggested, his brow furrowed.

Joe sighed. This was not going the way he wanted it to go. At all.

OOOoooOOO

"Emily, stay awake." Nancy pushed her hard with her shoulder. She knew that if either one of them fell asleep, it would kill them.

"I can't. I'm s-so cold," Emily replied through chattering teeth.

"I know," Nancy said, shuddering so violently that she almost toppled over. "Talk to me."

"A-about what?"

"Joe. Is everything okay with him now?"

"Yes." Emily paused. "I can't talk about Joe. It'll make me cry. Tell me about you and Frank."

"What do you want to know?"

Emily smiled. "How about when you two are getting married?"

Nancy's voice was strained. "Maybe Frank isn't such a good subject either."

She shook her head to clear away the tears that sprung unexpectedly to her eyes as she thought of her boyfriend. "How about the c-case?"

"Okay." Emily yawned. "What else did we discover that got us tossed down here? I mean, besides the article on the monstrance belonging somewhere else."

Nancy's head was starting to feel fuzzy, but one thought burned through clearly. "Emily, whoever did this to us is on the inside."

"What do you mean?" Emily shivered again.

"It's someone in the monastery." Nancy sat up straight for a moment. "No one else knows what we're doing."

OOOoooOOO

Frank could see that Father Bertrand's face was etched with worry as he sat behind his desk, trying to process all that he and Joe had just told him.

The priest looked at Frank. "Why do you think the girls might be here?"

"We don't know that they are," Frank said. "But we don't have anything else to go on. All we know is that they were doing research here. Nancy brought some papers about your artifacts back to the hotel, and now the papers are gone, along with the girls."

He was trying to be patient, but it was becoming difficult. Father Bertrand seemed to be having trouble understanding the situation.

"We wanted to see if maybe we could pick up a clue here." Joe leaned forward in his chair, opposite Father Bertrand's desk. "And quite frankly, this conversation is wasting valuable time."

Frank rested his hand on Joe's arm in an effort to restrain him. He didn't want his brother to tick off the one person in a position to help them.

"I'm sorry. My brother didn't mean to be rude. We're just very worried about the girls."

"Of course you are." Father Bertrand smiled. "No offense taken. Where would you like to begin your search?"

"Where have Nancy and Emily been investigating?" Joe asked.

"Emily has spent most of her time in the library with Guillaume. Nancy has been in the cathedral."

"Then that's where we'd like to go, too," Frank stated, encouraged that they finally seemed to be getting somewhere.

Father Betrand pushed a button on his desk. Presently a rather sleepy looking monk showed up at his door. "Brother Dominic? Will you please have Guillaume meet us in the library immediately?"

"Of course," the man said, turning to exit.

"Now, if you will follow me?" Father Bertrand rose from his chair.

OOOoooOOO

By the time they arrived in the library, Guillaume was already waiting for them. Joe eyed him curiously, noting the fact that he was young and good looking.

"You're a monk?"

"Je suis un candidat," Guillaume replied softly, his heavy French accent much more evident from his fatigue at being roused from a deep sleep.

"What does that mean?" Joe continued.

"Je n'ai pas pris mes voeux finaux."

Bess nudged Joe in the back. "He's almost a full-fledged monk. He just has one more set of vows to take."

In Joe's book, that meant he wasn't a monk.

Guillaume looked to Father Bertrand, seemingly awaiting an explanation as to why he was summoned at this late hour.

Father Bertrand spoke to him in French. Joe noticed that Guillaume's eyes widened, and he appeared to very distressed at whatever the priest said.

"Mon Dieu!" he exclaimed.

Bess whispered behind Joe. "I think he just said that Nan and Emily are missing, and then Guillaume took the Lord's name in vain…which I didn't think monks were allowed to do."

"He's not a monk."

Father Bertrand continued in French, and Guillaume shook his head. "Nous étudiions l'histoire du monstrance. Où il est venu d'et les choses comme ça."

Joe noticed that Guillaume turned and stared at him, then spoke to the priest.

"Pourquoi quelqu'un les prendrait-elles?"

"I'm sorry," Joe interrupted. "But I don't speak French, and I can't afford to miss any clues."

"No, I'm sorry," Father Bertrand said. "Guillaume's English is weak. I only wanted to make sure that I got the most information possible from him. Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything. They've only been learning about the missing monstrance."

"La cathédrale," Guillaume spoke up.

"What about the cathedral?" Frank asked.

"Les filles ont pensé il y avait un indice dans la cathédrale." Guillaume's eyes turned to Father Bertrand.

"A clue? What sort of clue did they think they would find?" Father Bertrand wanted to know.

Guillaume shook his head. "Je ne sais pas. J'ai dû le retour à mon travail."

"I think we should check out the cathedral," Frank said.

"Of course," Father Bertrand turned, but paused as Guillaume touched his cloak.

"Qui sont ces hommes?"

Joe crossed his arms in front of him. The non-monk was giving him the stink eye.

"Oh wait, let me try," Bess spoke up. "Um, ils sont les amants de Nancy et Emily."

Guillaume blanched.

"Geez, Bess, what did you say?" Joe asked as they followed Father Bertrand down the hall.

"I told him you were Nancy and Emily's boyfriends." She looked back at Guillaume who seemed distressed. "At least I hope that's what I said."

"You said we were their lovers," Frank inserted.

"Oh, crap. No more trying to speak French for me," Bess said firmly.

Father Bertrand unlocked the cathedral through a side door leading from the monastery.

"Is this always kept locked?" Joe asked, as the priest stepped through the door.

"The entire cathedral is locked up at nine o'clock each night," he replied.

Joe waited just inside the church as Father Bertrand allowed everyone to go past him, then closed the door behind them. Candlelight from the various side altars around the church danced and reflected off the interior walls, giving an eerie feeling to the place. Bess shivered.

"Wow, I can't seem to get over how different this place looks at night," she murmured.

"Where did Nancy and Emily spend their time when they were here?" Frank asked.

Father Bertrand pointed to the main altar. They all walked forward, stopping at the altar gate. Father Bertrand reached into a pocket tucked away inside his cassock. He brought out a large key ring and unlocked the gate.

"So this area is always kept locked?" Joe asked.

"It is locked to the public, but Mademoiselle Drew was given a key if she needed access for her investigation."

"May we look around?" Frank asked.

This seemed like a dead end to Joe. The cathedral was wide open here, and there weren't very many places anyone could hide. Not to mention, it was almost completely dark.

"I don't know how we're going to see anything," Joe complained. "Don't you have any lights in this place?"

"This building predates electricity by many hundreds of years," the abbot reminded him. "We have no electric lights in the main part of the cathedral."

He reached over to the wall and grabbed something, then stepped to a side altar. In a moment he was back with a lighted torch. "This should help." He placed it in a wall bracket.

"Not much," Joe said. He backed up to get a better look at his surroundings and crashed into three large, free standing, gold candle holders, almost knocking them over.

"Be careful," Frank hissed.

OOOoooOOO

Emily felt drugged. Her eyes were heavy and drooping, and she couldn't seem to focus anymore. She knew Nancy was speaking to her, but she couldn't quite make out what she was saying. She did realize there was a note of urgency in her friend's voice, and she tried harder to pay attention.

Nancy nudged her. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Emily mumbled.

"Th-that noise," Nancy said, through chattering teeth.

"Noise?"

Emily tried hard to understand what Nancy was asking, but her thoughts weren't connecting.

"It was right above us."

Emily startled as Nancy pushed her hard.

"Come on, wake up. Someone is up there."

Emily felt alarm, but couldn't get her body to respond. Just forming words with her mouth took effort, and she spoke much more slowly than she wanted to.

"It might be the person who put us here. M-maybe he's coming back."

"Well, that's a chance we'll just have to take."

Nancy pressed against Emily's back. "Come on, we need to stand. We have to get over to the door."

Emily didn't have enough strength to stand.

"We have to shout. Can you scream?"

"No."

"Emily, what if it's Joe?"

At the mention of her boyfriend's name, Emily felt a little boost of energy, and turned to Nancy, who was looking at her intently.

"Scream. Scream as loudly as you can," Nancy ordered.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Thanks very much to max2013, Lady Emily, Guest, Jackie, Caranath, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, bhar, ILoveMom, Vinsmouse, and Leya for your reviews! You're awesome! And as always, thank you to those who are reading!

Chapter 16

"Um, what exactly are we looking for?" Bess asked, grabbing onto Frank's arm, as he began searching the altar area of the cathedral.

"Something…anything…that might give us a clue," Frank said.

Joe sighed loudly. "Frank, this place is wide open. We would have tripped over the girls by now if they were here. We're wasting our time."

Frank knew Joe was frustrated. But he couldn't ignore the cathedral…it was the one place he knew Nancy and Emily had been for sure. He didn't think they'd find the girls here either. But they might find a clue. And in his mind, that was worth being methodical about.

"Joe, we know they've been here. Maybe they were even abducted _from _here. Let's just check things out to be sure before we move on."

"Fine. I'll give you five minutes and then I'm out of here." Joe dropped to his knees and began scanning the floor.

"I'll look under this table thingy," Bess said, crawling off toward the back of the altar.

Frank was relieved that Bess had pulled herself together and was ready to help them. He knew they had to work fast if they were going to get any kind of lead on Nancy and Emily. He also knew they were at a distinct disadvantage since he and Joe had no knowledge of the case or the cathedral. Getting up to speed by questioning Father Bertrand would waste too much valuable time. Having Bess work with them was an absolute necessity.

Frank called out to Father Bertrand. "So, was the cathedral locked tonight at nine o'clock?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. "I checked it myself. Nothing was amiss."

Frank paused. "The girls didn't disappear until after nine-thirty."

Joe stood up and approached Frank. "And as far as we know, they disappeared from the hotel, not here. So what in the hell are we doing crawling around digging up dust bunnies on the floor of a church for?"

"We're being thorough, Joe. I don't want to miss anything. The girls' lives may depend on it. " Frank had reached his limit with his brother's impatient nature. "You of all people should know that detective work requires–"

An excited squeal came from Bess. "Look! Look what I found!"

She stood, holding up a dangling piece of crystal that glistened in the candle light. "It's mine."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Bess, we're not here to look for your things."

"No. It's my earring, but I let Nancy borrow it for tonight. She didn't have the right accessories for her gown. She never does–"

Frank snatched it from her. "Nancy was wearing this tonight? At the dance?"

Because if she was, that was the first solid clue they had. And it meant that the girls were close by. Maybe even actually in this building. Frank took a deep breath to calm himself down. He needed to think clearly.

Bess nodded. "Yes, she wore this earring to the ball. Tonight.

He turned to Guillaume. "Did the girls visit you right before the dance?"

Father Bertrand repeated the question to him in French.

"Non, monsieur."

Frank turned to Joe. "Then they're here."

OOOoooOOO

"It's no use," Emily sagged to the stone floor after shouting as loudly as she could for Joe. "No one can hear us."

Nancy's shoulders drooped. She bent her head forward on her knees, her body shaking with cold. There was nothing else she could do. She didn't have the strength or skills to get herself out of this mess. For the first time in her life, she felt utterly defeated.

"Oh, Frank," she whispered.

Emily shouted for Joe one more time before she, too, seemed to give up. Nancy knew it wouldn't be long for either one of them at this point.

_At least hypothermia is a painless death._

OOOoooOOO

"Did you hear that?" Joe turned his head to the right.

"What?" Bess asked.

He held up his hand. "I heard something."

"What was it, Joe?" Frank came over to him.

"I don't know."

Joe moved forward a few more steps, then halted. It had almost sounded like a high-pitched cry, but it seemed smothered. He dropped to his knees then looked at Frank.

"It came from down here somewhere."

Frank joined him on the ground, and the two of them began feeling around the floor of the altar. Father Bertrand grabbed the torch and brought it closer to them.

"Is there a basement in this building?" Joe asked.

"Yes, of course, but it doesn't extend underneath the altar."

Joe turned behind him and stared at the floor. He thought the priest was wrong. The sound had come from almost directly under his feet. He noticed two dark marks that looked like something had been dragged over the marble tile. Glancing upward, he spotted an iron candle holder with hundreds of votive candles on it. He jumped up.

"Come help me, Frank."

Frank joined him and the two of them slid the candle holder away from the wall.

Joe hurried back over to where the candle holder had been resting. There was a visible gap surrounding the large tile. Bingo. That tile was removable.

"I need something to pry this open."

Frank reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a jackknife. "I don't know if this is sturdy enough."

Joe took it, and with Frank's help, pried the trap door up enough to slide their fingers underneath. They moved it across the floor and stared down. A dank, oppressive smell rose from the darkness below. Frank coughed.

Joe's hand shot out. "Torch."

Father Bertrand handed it to him immediately. As Joe shown the light over the opening, an ancient stone staircase came into view. The steps were steep and narrow, crumbling in spots, and closed in on both sides by rock walls shiny with dampness.

"Zut alors," the abbot whispered.

Bess peered over the edge into the inky blackness. "I'm waiting here."

Joe was hyper-focused now, his thoughts only for Emily. He made his way down the staircase, careful not to slip on the damp stone, followed by Frank and Father Bertrand.

"You didn't know this was here?" Frank asked.

The abbot shook his head. "No. It is not on any of the floor plans we have."

They reached the bottom and Joe held the torch high. They stared down a long corridor, the stone walls covered with large patches of green moss. Joe began walking and shivered as a torn spider web brushed across his face. He noticed old wooden doorways on both sides of the walls at about four foot intervals, and immediately reached out and opened the first one. A large rat scurried between his feet, but the cell was empty.

The same thing happened with every other door until they arrived at the end of the passageway. Joe tried the last door and found it locked.

"Frank!" he called. "I need some help."

Frank hurried to his side, and on the count of three, they both slammed their shoulders against the door hard. It didn't budge.

"Dammit," Joe hissed. "Try again, Frank."

The door refused to give even a little. Joe pounded it hard with his fists, then kicked at the ancient iron latch.

"It's no use," Frank said, breathing heavily. "We're going to need a crowbar or something."

"Just a minute." Father Bertrand dashed back to the stone staircase and shouted up to Guillaume in French.

"These are prison cells," Joe said, his anger rising inside him. "This place is a damn dungeon. A real one."

"I know." Frank face was grim as he ran his hand over the door. "This is so old. You'd think we'd be able to smash it in."

"It's also about three feet thick, I'm betting." Joe's anxiety level was rising. He felt it in his gut that Emily was somewhere close by and not being able to get this door opened was driving him nuts. As he ran his fingers along the edge of the frame, looking for any kind of crack he could exploit, he shivered. "Shit, it's freezing down here."

Father Bertrand returned with a crowbar. "Here you are."

Frank took it, jimmied the door, and with his and Joe's weight, forced it open.

In the torchlight, Joe could see Nancy and Emily huddled on the cold stone floor in a room about five feet square, not moving.

His heart almost stopped beating.

He rushed into the cell and scooped up Emily in his arms.

"She's an icicle, Frank."

Joe held Emily close as he checked for a pulse. He sighed with relief and quickly moved through the door.

Nancy sagged limply against Frank's shoulder as he caught up to his brother.

They carefully carried both girls up the stone staircase and into the main part of the cathedral.

"Oh my gosh!" Bess squealed loudly, her voice reverberating and echoing throughout the building. "Are they okay?"

"They're frozen," Joe said.

"This way," Father Bertrand instructed, leading them back into the monastery.

They followed him through the main corridor and down a side hall. He paused in front of a door marked "Infirmerie" and opened it wide. "I will go rouse our physician."

Joe entered the room and glancing around, spotted a sofa. He sat down, with Frank next to him, and held Emily close, while Bess knelt in front of them. Guillaume flipped the light switch on the wall.

"Find something to get these damn ties off their wrists," Joe ordered.

Bess hurried over to a desk in the corner of the room, and grabbed a pair of scissors out of a large mug filled with pens and pencils.

"Oh, she's so cold," Bess lamented, as she touched Emily on the arm, then quickly snipped through the zip ties around her wrists.

"These damn dresses are so flimsy, they might as well have been wearing nothing at all," Joe said, as brought Emily's arms in front of her and pulled her close to him. His heart twisted in his chest as he noticed the bluish tinge of her lips and the pallor of her skin.

Frank brushed his lips against Nancy's. "Ice."

Father Bertrand returned with another man, who immediately went over to the girls and began checking their vital signs.

"Are you the doctor?" Joe asked.

"Yes," he replied, in perfect English.

"Do you have anything here you can quickly raise their body temperature with?" Frank asked. "Can you do a warm IV?"

The doctor looked at Frank as he began rapidly pulling out supplies from a white, metal cabinet. "Do you have medical training?"

"No. Personal experience, unfortunately."

"I don't have that capability here, but I wish I did." The doctor gestured to the two hospital beds on the other side of the room. "Set them there, please."

Bess quickly turned down the sheets on two beds on the opposite side of the room and Frank and Joe placed the girls on them. The doctor hurriedly stuck a thermometer in both of their mouths.

"Hold them," he instructed Frank and Joe.

Father Bertrand moved between the beds, wringing his hands. "Who could have done such a thing? It's unthinkable. I had no inkling when I requested Carson's help something like this could happen."

Bess walked over to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said as she led him over to the sofa. "Is there a kitchen? Maybe I could fix you some tea?"

"That would be an excellent idea," the doctor spoke up. "For the girls as well, please. Go down the hall and turn left. You can't miss it."

Bess nodded and slipped out the door.

The doctor removed the thermometers from the girls' mouths. His expression was somber as he read them.

"Are they going to be all right?" Joe was trying not to panic.

"We need to warm them up as quickly as possible."

Frank was already removing his jacket, and Joe had kicked off his shoes and was reaching for his belt buckle.

"I see you know the treatment protocol," the doctor said. "Excellent. That'll save time. I'll bring you some extra blankets."

"What are you doing?" Father Bertrand asked, as Frank and Joe stripped off their clothes down to their boxer shorts.

"They need body heat to warm them," the doctor explained. "I have nothing here that can generate a ninety-eight degree temperature fast enough."

Father Bertrand nodded. "I understand. You must do whatever is necessary to save their lives."

Joe glanced at Frank. "Damn straight we will," he muttered.

Frank was already pulling back the blankets to slide under them. "At this point, I could care less what anyone thinks."

Joe stripped down to his boxer shorts and was climbing under the sheets, when heard Guillaume speaking loudly in French to Father Bertrand. What the hell was his problem?

Father Bertrand cleared his throat. "Joe?"

Joe glanced at him.

"Emily is promised to you, is she not?"

Joe pulled the blankets tightly around Emily and himself. "I'm not sure I understand."

"She wears your ring, correct? You intend to marry her?"

"Yes."

Father Bertrand nodded, then turned to Guillaume and spoke in French.

Joe noticed that Frank was already under the covers and saw that he cringed as Nancy's cold body came into contact with his warm one.

Joe pulled Emily into a tight embrace. He ran his hands up and down along her bare back, trying as best as he could to raise her body temperature. The doctor stepped over to his bedside.

"Can you unfasten her dress?" he whispered. "You need to heat her core, not her extremities. The more direct contact her skin has with yours, the better."

Joe reached up to her neck, where the top part of her halter-style gown, fastened. "I don't know if I can get it from this angle."

The doctor stepped around to Emily's side of the bed and undid it for him. Then, moving over to Nancy, opened the zipper on the back of her dress.

OOO

Bess stepped back into the room, carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups on it. She set it down and poured a cup for the abbot. After handing it to him, she glanced across the room then walked over to the beds. Nancy and Emily still weren't moving and she was really starting to get worried.

"Are they okay?" she asked the doctor.

"I don't know yet," was his grim reply.

Bess said a silent prayer for both of her friends. They had to get better. She didn't know what she would do without Nancy in her life. And she knew Frank and Joe would be beyond devastated if either one of the girls didn't pull through.

OOO

Under the covers, Joe pulled down the front of Emily's dress and brought her up close against his bare chest.

"Come on, Emily. Wake up. It's all over. You're safe now," he whispered in her ear, following it up with a kiss. "Please, baby. Please wake up."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **A huge thanks to Guest, max2013, Caranath, Guest, ILoveMom, zenfrodo, Guest, Stork Hardy, Vinsmouse, Jackie, and catlover1033 for reviewing! You made my day! Thank you to those who are reading as well!

Chapter 17

"This is ridiculous!" Kathy threw her evening bag across the living room of her suite. "I won't put up with this for one more second. Where is Joe?"

Louis gave a weary sigh as he poured himself a drink from the bar. He had nothing but respect for the senator he worked for, but the man's daughter was going to send him to the funny farm.

"Frank told you. They are investigating. They're doing what they were hired to do."

"My father hired them to protect me!" Kathy shouted. "How can they do that if they're not even here?"

Louis swirled the beverage around in his glass before he took a sip. "Don't you want this guy caught? Don't you want to be able to have fun without looking over your shoulder all the time?"

"I want Joe!"

Louis smirked and took another sip of alcohol.

"No kidding. Let me tell you something, Kathy. This might be a huge revelation for you. You're not always going to get what you want in life. Daddy can't buy you everything."

Kathy flopped down on the couch. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Louis took a seat on a barstool. "I thought we were talking about Joe."

"We're talking about why he isn't here protecting me."

"Your father didn't hire a bodyguard, Kathy. He hired a detective." Louis raised an eyebrow. "But you seem to think he hired a boyfriend."

Kathy glared at him.

"Joe's not interested in you. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be."

She jumped up from the sofa and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Spoiled brat," Louis muttered as he poured himself another drink.

OOOoooOOO

Emily's body began to shake violently against Joe's, and he called for the doctor in alarm. The doctor leaned down to check her vitals, and smiled.

"Her pulse is stronger."

"But I can't stop her from shaking," Joe said, holding her even closer to him.

"That's a good sign. Her body is trying to warm itself again."

Joe gently caressed her back and kissed her cheek. "Come on, baby. Come back to me."

He threw his leg over hers and drew her in to him more tightly. A shudder went through Emily that Joe thought would tear her in two. He brought his lips over hers and kissed her, hoping to warm her even more.

After a moment, he felt her returning the kiss. He pulled back and stared into her green eyes.

"Thank God," he murmured, hugging her tightly.

OOO

As the doctor went over to check Emily, Frank felt Nancy stirring in his arms. He looked down as her eyes fluttered open. Relief flooded through him.

"Hey, beautiful."

Nancy smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Frank complied with her request, but when she began to slide her hand down his chest, he grabbed her wrist.

"You might want to wait until we're alone."

She stopped abruptly and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Nance, are you really awake?" Bess Marvin's voice echoed to one side of her.

Frank grinned at the confusion on her face.

"Oh, Mademoiselle Drew, I cannot tell you how relieved I am," Father Bertrand said, as he approached the bed.

Nancy's eyes widened and she looked at Frank. "Am I having some sort of twisted dream?"

Frank hugged her to him and chuckled. "No, baby."

OOOoooOOO

"Where are Joe and Frank?" Lauren asked as Kathy threw herself on her bed.

"Investigating."

Kathy sighed and pounded her pillow. This was not how things were supposed to turn out. This dance tonight was going to be the moment that Joe realized they belonged together. It would have been so romantic. They would have slow danced together, and when Joe took her in his arms and she looked into his eyes, he would know he loved her.

"Why are you so mad?" Tammy asked. "I thought you said Joe wouldn't rest until he caught this guy?"

"Yes." Kathy lay back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling. "I don't like being away from him, that's all."

Lauren was perched on the edge of her bed, filing her nails. "Just how serious are you and Joe anyhow?"

"I want to marry him," Kathy stated.

And the sooner Joe figured it out, the better things would be. She could end all this stalker nonsense and they could just be happy. But now she couldn't even pretend to get the latest stalker notes she'd written. What was the point if Joe wasn't here to see them?

"Does he feel the same way?" Lauren asked as she reached for a bottle of nail polish on the night table.

"Of course he does."

Lauren raised her eyebrows as she polished her fingernails, but didn't say anything.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that I'm not sure he's that serious, Kath."

Kathy rose up on her elbow. "What are you talking about? Of course he is."

"Okay." Lauren waved her hand in the air to dry the polish. "If you say so."

Kathy was fuming. Lauren was supposed to be one of her best friends. Why would she say something like that?

"We're going to get married. I love Joe."

Lauren sighed. "Whatever. Look, I'm only telling you this because I'm your friend. I don't see it in his eyes."

"You don't see what in his eyes?"

"Love, passion, that 'can't live without you' look." She picked up the nail polish bottle again. "Sorry, Kath. I'm just not seeing it."

"Joe just doesn't like to show his feelings in public, that's all," Kathy replied.

"Fine. So he's not into PDA." Lauren began to polish the nails on her other hand. "That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the look he should have when you walk into the room. His face lighting up when he sees you. All of that stuff."

"You've been reading too many romance novels," Kathy grumbled. "Joe loves me, we're getting married, and that's the end of it."

OOOoooOOO

While Doctor Delacroix checked the girls' vital signs one last time, Frank stepped over to Joe. "I don't know about you, but there is no way I'm letting Nancy stay in a hotel room by herself after what happened tonight."

"We're on exactly the same page," Joe said, as he finished buttoning up his shirt. "They can stay with us. And I don't give a damn what Kathy thinks about it."

"You're not planning on letting her know that Emily is your girlfriend, are you?" Because Frank was damn sure that would not go over well.

Joe snorted. "I'm not that stupid."

"So, what's your plan then?"

"I'm going to give her enough rope and hope she hangs herself." Joe tightened his belt. "If she's as hot after me as you say she is, just having other women in the suite will trigger her insecurities, and she'll screw up."

"You think she's insecure?" Frank wasn't sure about that one. Kathy appeared to have more self-confidence than anyone he knew.

"I do," Joe said. "I know you haven't spent as much time with her as I have, so you probably wouldn't see it, but she's actually very unsure of herself. I think it's because she's been given everything she's ever asked for in life. She's never gotten anything on her own merit, so she doesn't think she can."

Frank nodded. It made sense. "Then I'll follow your lead on this. I'll introduce Nan as my girlfriend, and Em and Bess can be her assistants."

"But I still want to use that hotel room tonight," Joe said. "Why don't you tell the girls that Em is staying here for the night, and that I'm still working on Kathy's case."

"Not sure that's going to fly with the princess." Frank knew Kathy would be suspicious about this whole set-up, but right now he couldn't come up with anything better. And he was not willing to risk Nancy's welfare for a good cover story with a client who'd already lied to them.

"You know what? At this point I could care less," Joe said as he shoved his feet into his shoes.

Nancy called to Frank from the other side of the room. "Honey, we can go now."

"Be right there," he responded with a warm smile. "I agree, Joe. And right now, I'm more worried about Nancy and Em, than Kathy's feelings."

"Me, too," Joe agreed. "Whoever kidnapped them intended for them to die in that hell hole. When I think of Em on the floor of that dungeon, cold and not moving…"

Frank snapped his fingers as a burst of inspiration came to him. "Joe, I've got it. Let's use the federal agents to help set a trap for Kathy."

"What? How?"

"Let her see one of them. One she doesn't know. Louis said they had some rookies assigned to her as well as agents she's familiar with."

Joe grinned. "Then she'll think someone's really stalking her?"

"Not only that, but she'll think we don't suspect her at all. If she is the one behind all this, it might make her careless and give us the opportunity we need to get better proof."

"I've got to hand it to you, Frank. That's brilliant." Joe gave his brother a light punch on the arm.

Frank smiled. "Thanks. And while we do that, we also need to figure out who's after Nancy and Emily."

Joe's eyes darkened.

"That's my number one priority."

OOOoooOOO

Frank hovered over Nancy as she sat up in the infirmary bed and dangled her legs over the side. "Are you sure it's all right for them to leave?" he asked, glancing at the doctor.

Because he thought she needed to stay in the infirmary through the night at least. Maybe longer. Maybe he should insist she be transported to a hospital, where they had real medical equipment instead of this…glorified school nurse's office.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Their body temperatures are very close to normal, their vital signs are good, and they're coherent and aware of their surroundings. They may need a little bit of rest, but other than that, they're fine to resume normal activities."

"Like being kidnapped and thrown into a dungeon?" Nancy asked wryly.

"Well, that may be all in a day's work for you, Miss Drew, but I wouldn't advise doing it again anytime soon." The doctor checked her pulse then smiled. "Unless you're dressed appropriately, of course."

Nancy rolled her eyes and tugged at her low-cut evening gown. Frank reached for his tuxedo jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She needed to be more covered up in his opinion anyway.

"So I guess we can go back to the hotel?" Bess asked. Then she sighed. "Oh, but our room is a mess."

"You're not staying in your room," Frank stated.

"Oh?" Nancy asked. "Then where on earth are we going to stay?"

"In the suite with me and Joe."

Joe nodded in agreement from the other bed, where he was helping Emily to stand. "Yeah, until we figure out who kidnapped you and why, you're not going to be alone."

"What are you talking about?" Nancy slid off the cot.

Frank tensed up and moved closer, ready to catch her if she became unsteady.

Nancy reached for her high heels and slipped them on her feet. "You two are on a top secret government case. Remember? We're not even supposed to know you."

"We have a fairly good idea who the culprit is," Joe explained, wrapping a blanket around Emily. "And actually, having you around might help us catch the suspect."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "You know who's been stalking the senator's daughter?"

"Well, we don't know for sure." Joe smiled at her. "But we have some good theories. We just need the proof."

"Um, from what you've told me about Kathy, she's not going to like having us there," Emily said.

Joe shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We'll get you an adjoining room. The suite can be expanded several times over."

"Don't worry, Emily," Frank called out. "Joe and I will take care of everything."

Nancy rolled her eyes and smacked Frank lightly on the arm. "Spoken like a true man."

Frank chuckled and pulled her close. "That's right, Nan. Whether you like it or not."

Nancy smiled against his chest. "I like it."

OOOoooOOO

Fifteen minutes later, Frank stood outside of the Alpine Suite with Nancy and Bess.

"Okay, are you ready for this?"

Nancy grinned. "Piece of cake after the dungeon."

"You haven't met Kathy."

Bess smirked. "I'm sure I can handle Kathy."

Frank chuckled as he unlocked the door. "I'm sure you can too, Bess."

Bess had a wicked sense of humor coupled with a heavy dose of snark. Frank didn't think Kathy wouldn't get away with much with Bess around.

He ushered them into the main living area of the suite, where Louis was seated, reading a newspaper. He looked up in surprise when they entered.

"Louis, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Nancy Drew, and her friend, Bess Marvin."

Before Louis could say anything, Kathy burst out of her bedroom.

"Is Joe back?"

She stared at Nancy and Bess.

"Who are you?"

Frank put his hands on Nancy's shoulders. The moment of truth had arrived. He braced himself for the tantrum.

"This is my girlfriend, Nancy."

"Really? And what's she doing here?"

"I'm a detective. I'm here working on a case," Nancy explained.

Kathy looked Nancy up and down and arched an eyebrow.

"Not my case."

"No, not your case," Nancy replied.

Frank turned to Louis, who seemed to be watching the proceedings with amusement. "The girls were kidnapped earlier tonight from this hotel and imprisoned in the cathedral."

"What?" Louis stood up, and his mouth dropped open. "Why would someone do that?"

"It has to do with my investigation," Nancy explained. "I just haven't figured it out yet."

"Anyway," Frank interrupted. "I can't have them staying by themselves. I spoke with the desk clerk, and one of the adjoining rooms to the suite is vacant. I've reserved it for the girls. I hope you don't mind."

"No. No, of course not," Louis assured him.

Kathy crossed her arms in front of her. "What if _I_ mind?"

Frank smiled patiently. He was going to be firm with her. Because it was about damn time somebody was.

"I'd apologize, but in the long run, it wouldn't really matter. The girls' safety is more important."

"What about my safety?"

"You will be perfectly safe, I promise," Frank assured her.

Kathy looked pointedly around the room. "Where's Joe?"

"He'll be back tomorrow. I explained this earlier. He's doing some investigating."

OOOoooOOO

Emily waited patiently, as Joe, with one arm tightly around her waist, opened the door to the hotel room Frank had reserved.

Emily's eyes lit up as she stepped inside.

"Oh, Joe, this is so cute!"

She gazed around at the small fireplace, the elaborately carved wooden headboard with a downy featherbed topping the mattress, and the small storybook windows on the far wall.

He smiled at her, pulling her in for a hug. "I knew you'd like it."

The blanket she was wrapped in dropped down to the ground as she slid her arms around Joe's neck. He buried his face in her hair and splayed his hands across her bare back, then stood still, just holding her for a moment.

"Joe, are you all right?" Emily asked.

He let out a long, ragged breath. "Baby, you scared the hell out of me tonight."

"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

She knew how hard this was for Joe. He didn't like her involved with detective work at all. Especially detective work with Nancy.

Joe kissed her cheek. "It wasn't your fault. I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

"I wish I knew what we did to provoke it."

Joe held her more tightly. "Let's worry about that tomorrow, okay?"

Emily nodded and lifted her head. "Okay."

Joe kissed her tenderly, then took both of her hands in his, leading her to the bed. He lifted her up and sat her on the featherbed, then reached down for the blanket and wrapped it around her again.

"You stay right here."

"Where are you going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll see," Joe said as he stepped into the bathroom.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the comments, Caranath, max2013, Guest, catlover1033, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Lady Emily, Vinsmouse, ILoveMom, Guest, Jackie, and Future Animator! They are very appreciated! This chapter starts out fluffy and ends up bloody. Muahahaha! Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 18

Bess flopped down on one of the three twin beds in her new room in Kathy's suite.

"I am so tired, I could cry. And I'm still not sure Lars believed my story about you two suddenly coming down with food poisoning." She sighed then looked over at Nancy. "So if Joe's with Emily tonight, are you going to sleep in Frank's room?"

"You know it." Nancy grinned as she pulled what was left of the bobby pins out of her now straggly up-do.

Bess giggled. She had thought all along that Frank and Nancy would be perfect together, even when Nancy refused to admit she had feelings for him.

Frank had always been reserved, even to the point of what Bess would consider "stuffy." But she suspected a fiery passion burned underneath that calm, unruffled, exterior. She could tell from the mischievous twinkle she'd seen in Frank's eyes at times. She also knew her best friend could be the one to bring that out in him. And Bess was right. Nancy had turned Frank Hardy's world upside down and kept him on his toes.

"Yeah, but does Frank know it?"

"Probably not. He thinks I should rest." Nancy grabbed a comb from the collection of toiletries provided by the hotel, and tried to run it through her hair. "Ouch!"

Bess smirked as she stood and slipped out of her evening gown, then hung it up in the closet.

"Something tells me you won't be getting much rest tonight."

"I'm too wired to sleep anyhow," Nancy replied. "My mind is spinning over this case. The kidnapper had to be someone connected with the monastery, but who?"

Bess shook her head as she pulled back the sheets on her bed. "How can you possibly have just recovered from hypothermia and have so much energy?"

"I slept when I was freezing," Nancy said. "I'm taking a nice, hot shower now."

She strolled to the bathroom then stuck her head around the doorframe. "Oh, and uh, don't wait up for me."

"Never occurred to me." Bess yawned. "You'd better be back in our room before Princess Kathy wakes up though, or she'll tell her daddy on you."

OOOoooOOO

Emily sat patiently, dangling her legs off the side of the unusually high bed in the hotel room, while Joe banged around in the bathroom. She smiled as she heard him utter an expletive.

After a few minutes, he came out and walked over to her. He bent forward in a sweeping bow then extended his hand. "Your bath is ready, my lady."

"Mmmm, I can't wait." She was still feeling chilled, and soaking in some nice warm water sounded heavenly.

She took his hand as he helped her down. He removed the blanket and led her into the bathroom.

Emily stared at the round tub for two in the corner, billowing over with bubbles at least four feet high. She stifled a smile and turned to him.

"Oh, honey, thank you. You're so sweet."

Joe grinned at her. "I didn't know how much bubble bath to use, so I went ahead and poured in almost the entire bottle. It looks pretty good, huh?"

"Yes," Emily replied, knowing the bubbles would swallow her up whole the moment she attempted to sit in the water.

He stepped in front of her, and reaching behind her neck, unhooked the top of her dress and unzipped the bottom. It slid down, and pooled on the ground at her feet. Joe sucked in his breath.

"That little piece of lace is all you had on underneath this?"

"Joe, you undid my dress in the monastery."

"I knew you weren't wearing a bra, but..."

"The fabric is too filmy, panty lines show through it."

Joe groaned. "Oh, baby, if I'd known this earlier..."

Emily smiled while she watched Joe unsuccessfully try to school his features as his eyes raked over her body. His look of raw need was unmistakable.

"I don't think I want you wearing this ever again."

"Not even for you?" Because she had serious plans for this dress and a private dinner party for two.

He gave her a wicked grin. "Only for me."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy dried herself off after getting out of the shower and applied the floral scented body lotion the hotel had provided. She shook out her hair and finger-combed it, then grabbed the short, white, plush robe hanging on the back of the door. Tying it around her waist, she walked across the room. Bess was already asleep.

Nancy turned off all the lights and entered the living room area of the suite. It was dark. She crept toward Frank's room and tried the door. She smiled as it opened easily.

As she paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, she spotted Frank under the covers. She dropped her robe to the floor and slid under the sheets next to him.

He was lying on his side with his back to her, and she cuddled up to him, pressing her bare body fully against his. She felt him jump and suck in his breath. He reached his hand around her and ran it over her bottom.

"Nancy, what are you doing here?"

She giggled. "Very good, Frank. Who else did you think it might be?"

He turned over and hugged her tightly. "Nobody, you stinker."

"Not one of those little teenagers in the next room, I hope?"

Frank chuckled. "Not a chance."

She ran her hand down the length of his chest, resting it on the taut muscles of his stomach. Her body temperature instantly increased by several degrees. Frank Hardy's rock hard abs…instant cure for women with hypothermia everywhere.

"Good." Nancy slid her hand a little lower as she tilted her face back for a kiss.

Frank groaned as he brought his lips down over hers. He kissed her thoroughly then pulled away, breathless.

"Baby, you shouldn't be in here, you should be resting."

"I rested while I was unconscious. I feel fine." She leaned in to kiss his neck. "And I've missed you."

"Nan." His voice was strangled. "I think maybe we should wait."

"Why?" Nancy lowered her lips to his chest. "I want you."

And they had been apart far too long, as far as she was concerned. Frank's honor was not going to stand in her way tonight.

He moaned and closed his eyes. "Nan, honey, I'm afraid it's been so long, I...I'm not going to be able to be very gentle with you, and after the night you've had…"

Nancy knew he was trying to be noble. She was having none of it.

"I don't want you to be gentle." She brought her open mouth up to his. "I'm not going to be."

Frank grabbed her to him, pulling her down and kissing her with an intensity that took her breath away.

"Are you sure?" he whispered raggedly into her mouth.

"Very sure," she murmured, closing the distance between them again.

OOOoooOOO

Joe held out his hand to Emily, who took it and stepped into the bathtub.

"This hot water feels amazing," she said as she lowered herself to a sitting position and promptly disappeared under a mountain of bubbles.

"Emily?"

She lifted a hand and cleared away some of the suds surrounding her head. "Right here."

"Think maybe I overdid the bubble bath?" Joe asked grinning. Bubble baths were not his thing as a general rule, and the one capful of liquid the bottle suggested putting in the tub didn't seem like it would make nearly enough suds to him. Lesson learned.

Emily giggled. "No, I like it." She moved another pile of bubbles away from her face and held out her hand. "Come join me."

"Really?"

"Of course." She flung some lather at him. "I don't want to be in this big tub all alone."

That was all the invitation Joe needed. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and climbed in, sliding completely underneath the water.

"Where are you?" Emily squealed.

He popped up inches from her, covered with soap suds. Emily laughed as she brushed the foam from his hair. The sound made Joe's heart sing after having held her cold and motionless body only hours ago.

He leaned in and kissed her, spreading more bubbles across her face. She giggled as she scraped off some suds and daubed them on the tip of his nose.

Joe shook his head, scattering the suds everywhere, and loving the happy smile on his girlfriend's face. Then he settled himself against the side of the tub and drew her back between his legs. She leaned against his chest and sighed contentedly.

"Mmm, this feels so nice."

He kissed her temple. "Yes, it does. Much nicer than pulling you out of a dungeon cell half frozen to death."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that tonight."

He nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Joe wanted to get to the bottom of the kidnapping more than anything, but he also wanted to give Emily a chance to recover. Having been a victim of hypothermia himself a time or two, he knew it left its victims exhausted. He didn't think an interrogation at this point would help matters much. He leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

"What would you like to talk about?"

Emily turned her head to look at him. "How much I love you?"

"Sounds good." He smiled against her neck. "How much do you love me?"

"More than anything, Joe," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "You saved my life...again."

"That's because I love_ you_ more than anything," he replied, before turning her around in his arms and kissing her deeply.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy snuck back into her room just after dawn. She slipped into her own bed, hoping to catch another hour or two of sleep. Something she'd gotten precious little of in Frank's bed.

As she slowly drifted off, the telephone next to her bed jangled, jarring her awake. She put her hand over her chest as she lifted up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mademoiselle Drew?" an anxious male voice with a heavy French accent asked.

"Yes, this is Nancy. Who is this?"

"Père Xavier. Oh, Mademoiselle, something awful has happened. Can you please come to the cathedral?"

"Yes, yes of course. I'll be there as soon as I get dressed."

Nancy hung up the phone and looked toward Bess. She was sleeping like the dead. She sighed as she began changing her clothes, and whispered, "I guess I'll just go myself, then."

OOOoooOOO

Ten minutes later, Nancy rang the doorbell to the monastery. Father Xavier admitted her quickly. His brow was furrowed and his hands were trembling as he reached for hers.

"Father, what's wrong?"

"Please, come with me."

He led her through the door to the cathedral. Nancy noticed that there were no tourists or townspeople inside at this early hour. Father Xavier had Nancy by the hand as he hurried her along to the main altar. She looked down and gasped out loud. What looked like a river of blood was coursing down the marble steps, and lying, face down, in the middle of it, was Father Bertrand.

"Is he...is he dead?" she whispered.

"No. Doctor Delacroix has gone to meet the ambulance crew. He has instructed us not to move him," Father Xavier explained.

"What was he doing in here? How did this happen?" Nancy's mind was spinning with questions.

"It is evil, Mademoiselle." Father Xavier's voice was solemn. "Evil has come to our cathedral."

OOOoooOOO

Bess stumbled out of bed, assuming that Nancy still hadn't returned from Frank's room. She was on her way to give a warning knock on his door, when she noticed the piece of paper taped to the vanity mirror. She snatched it down, read it, and her eyes widened.

"Is she insane?"

She threw open the door to her bedroom, dashed across the living area, to the astonishment of Simone, and banged on Frank's door. Without waiting for a response, she flung it open. Frank was still lying under the covers. Bess dashed over and bounced down on the bed.

"What the..." Frank turned and opened his eyes. "Bess? What are you doing here?"

She held out the note. "Nancy's left. She's gone to the monastery alone. She said there was an emergency and she didn't want to wake you."

"What?" Frank bellowed. He sat up quickly and started to fling back his sheet when Bess stopped him.

"Wait until I've left, please."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy knelt down next to the priest, who looked ashen and lifeless to her. "We have to put something on this wound. He could be bleeding to death."

"Mademoiselle, I don't think..." Father Xavier started to protest as Nancy gently brushed back the hair that had fallen over the priest's forehead.

"Please," Nancy said urgently, "I need a cloth of some sort."

Father Xavier ran up the steps and snatched a cloth from the altar and handed it to her. Nancy folded it and placed it against the gash on Father Bertrand's temple, hoping to stop the blood flow. She was very concerned that the injury seemed to stem from the priest's head hitting the marble steps. Hard.

"Are you instructed in the ways of healing, Mademoiselle?"

"I'm certified in first aid," Nancy said. "I just hope he hasn't lost too much blood."

The side door flew open and an ambulance crew with a gurney quickly moved over to the front of the cathedral. Nancy stood back while Father Bertrand was loaded onto the gurney. She touched Dr. Delacroix on the arm. "Is he going to make it?"

"I won't know until we can get him to the hospital," he said grimly.

Nancy took a deep breath and nodded as the doctor followed after the EMTs and the gurney. Who on earth could have done this? Did Father Bertrand interrupt a crime? Was this an assault for personal reasons? Had there been a struggle? She needed to find some evidence…and fast.

"Father Xavier, do you mind if I look around for some clues ?"

The priest was still staring at the blood on the altar steps. "No, of course not, but Mademoiselle, an assault has taken place. I need to contact the police."

"Yes, you do," Nancy agreed. "I'm just going to look. I won't disturb anything."

Father Xavier nodded and turned to head back to the monastery. Suddenly, he clutched his throat and gasped. "Oh, no. No, no, no."

"Father, are you all right?" Nancy rushed over to him as he hurried toward the chapel in an alcove of the cathedral.

Father Xavier ignored her as he dashed through the open gate of the chapel. His eyes were wild as he looked back at Nancy. "Elle est absente! Notre Dame est allée!"

OOOoooOOO

Frank flew out of the door of the hotel and ran across the street to the monastery. The early morning light cast a soft glow on the town square, and the snow appeared pink in spots. But Frank saw none of it. His mind was on Nancy. He was going to throttle her. What the hell was she thinking? Someone had tried to kill her last night, and first thing she does this morning is go traipsing back to the scene of the crime? Alone and unprotected? She was going to be the death of him.

The air was bracing, and Frank pulled up the collar of his coat as he reached the steps of the building. He rang the bell and was soon admitted by a young brother.

"Is Father Bertrand here?"

The monk's eyes widened and he gave a nervous glance over his shoulder.

Maybe he doesn't speak English, Frank thought. "I'm with the American detective, Nancy Drew. I understand she's here as well."

"Mademoiselle Drew?"

"Yes," Frank said. "I need to see her."

The monk gestured to him and escorted him into the building. He approached the door to the cathedral and opened it, pointing his finger. "Elle est la dedans."

Frank smiled his thanks and hurried into the cathedral. Relief washed over him when he spotted Nancy, apparently unharmed, standing near the chapel. A frown crossed his face when he noticed how distraught Father Xavier seemed. The priest was wringing his hands and pacing back and forth in front of what looked like a small marble building.

"Nancy?" he called out as he approached her.

"Frank, what are you doing here?"

"What am _I _doing here? I was about to ask you the same question. After what happened to you last night, I can't believe–"

Nancy waved her hand in front of him. "Not now. We have an urgent matter here." She touched Father Xavier on the arm. "What were you trying to tell me? In English, please."

"Nancy," Frank tried to keep his voice even, although his patience was wearing thin.

Nancy held up her hand as Father Xavier started through the iron gate of the small chapel.

"She is gone, Mademoiselle. Our lady is missing."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Thank you SO much for the reviews, zenfrodo, Caranath, max2013, Lady Emily, Guest, Stork Hardy, Guest, catlover1033, Jackie, Leya, Vinsmouse, Guest, ILoveMom, flowerlover, and Future Animator! You truly made my day! Thanks, as always, to anyone who's reading!

Chapter 19

Emily took a deep breath as she and Joe walked toward the Alpine suite and the senator's daughter. Joe gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be okay. We're just going to pretend you're a friend of Nancy's."

Emily rolled her eyes. Joe could be ridiculously naïve about the ways of women sometimes. Especially women who were hot after him. Which Kathy definitely was. This girl was going to figure out that Emily was more than just "Nancy's friend" in about ten minutes. Emily knew things were going to get ugly…even if Joe didn't.

"Joe, this is never going to work. I'm sure this girl isn't stupid."

He stopped and rested his hands on her shoulders. "You let me worry about Kathy. Besides, having you here is going to help my case."

Emily glanced at him sideways. "How?"

"I can't tell you. You're going to have to trust me."

"Fine," Emily said. "It doesn't matter anyway. I have to find out what's going on at monastery. I can't imagine why Father Xavier would have called Nancy. Did Bess mention that?"

Joe shook his head. "No, she only said that Nancy left a note that something was wrong and Frank had gone over there."

"Maybe she didn't want to say anything more on the phone."

"She ruined my plans for the day, you know," Joe pointed out as they approached the door to the suite.

Emily smiled at him and feigned innocence. "Oh? And what were you planning?"

Joe raised his eyebrows at her. "You'll have to wait to find out. I intend to pick up where we left off at some point." He kissed her quickly, then handed her the key to the room. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Just go in there and say exactly what we rehearsed."

Emily nodded as Joe stepped away from the door. "Here goes nothing."

She opened the door and found herself in the living room of the suite with three pairs of surprised teenage eyes staring at her. Emily scanned the room, and noticed Bess leaning against the bar on the other side, looking like she was going to burst into laughter at any moment.

"Hi," Emily said weakly.

Kathy gave her a cold stare. "Who the hell are you?"

Yep, just as Emily suspected. Kathy was not going to like this one bit.

"Emily Clark. I'm...um...Nancy's assistant."

Bess choked on her morning glass of orange juice.

Kathy crossed her arms in front of her and tilted her head to one side. "Really? So where have you been all this time?"

"At the monastery."

"Why?" Lauren asked, seeming slightly confused.

"The doctor made me spend the night in the infirmary. I was a little too woozy to walk back to the hotel when Nancy did."

Emily hoped that didn't sound as lame as she thought it did.

"You don't look like a detective," Kathy said, her lips curling almost into a snarl as her eyes swept over Emily. "In fact, you don't look like much of anything."

"I'm not a detective. I'm a researcher. I speak French and Latin and I'm an expert in art history." This little teeny bopper was starting to annoy her with her condescending looks and her smart mouth attitude.

"An art history expert from Bayport?" Kathy sneered. "Yeah. Okay."

Emily smiled at her. "Well, I wouldn't expect you to know much about it. You look like you're still in high school."

Bess tried to stifle her laughter and ended up snorting.

"So where's Joe?" Lauren asked. "Wasn't he at the monastery?"

"I don't know, was he? I was unconscious for most of last night," Emily said. "I didn't see him there this morning."

"You know Joe?" Kathy asked, her hands on her hips.

"Every girl Bayport knows Joe Hardy," Emily said. "He's quite the player."

Tammy sat up in her chair. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah. He's left a trail of broken hearts all over town. You know, he never goes out with the same girl for more than a couple weeks. Too many fish in the sea for that boy."

Emily glanced at Bess, who had just sprayed what was left of her orange juice all over the top of the bar.

"Are you sure?" Lauren asked. "He doesn't seem like a player."

"Yeah, well, that's part of his charm. I always feel sorry for anyone he's dating. Because as much as a girl might want him, it's just not going to last." Emily stared straight at Kathy. "I guarantee it."

Emily knew Kathy was furious from the flushed look on the girl's face to her narrowed eyes, but at the moment, she just didn't care. She'd shut the little brat up for now. Joe probably wouldn't be amused when he found out what she'd said. She had definitely deviated from the script. Oh, well.

"So anyway, if you wouldn't mind showing me my room, I'll get the things Nancy wanted and head back over to the monastery," Emily said brightly. "Oh, hi, Bess. How are you?"

"Fine," Bess replied in a choked voice as she mopped up her orange juice with a dishcloth.

Before Emily could say anything more, Joe opened the door to the suite and walked inside.

"Oh, hey, everybody. How's it going?"

Kathy jumped up from the couch and dashed across the room, flinging herself at Joe. "Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're back. I missed you so much, babycakes."

Emily turned to Bess and rolled her eyes.

"Just wait," Bess whispered. "She's only getting warmed up."

Great, Emily thought. Well, she wasn't going to stick around to watch this little display. She wasn't normally the type of girl to get possessive of the guy she was dating…that was little too "junior high" for her. But this chick was working her last nerve, and part of her wanted to walk over to Joe, peel Kathy off her man, knock the little brat to the floor, and kiss Joe absolutely senseless. Yep, she needed to get out of this hotel room. Five minutes ago.

Kathy had tightened her arms around Joe, and was now kissing his neck. Joe pulled away from her, but Kathy grabbed his hand.

"Did you find out anything more about that horrible guy who's stalking me? I know you won't rest until he's caught."

"I have some leads I'm working on," Joe said. "And you're right, I won't rest until whoever is behind this gets exactly what they deserve."

"Isn't he the most wonderful boyfriend ever?" Kathy cooed, resting her head on Joe's shoulder, and staring at Emily.

"Oh, yes," Emily agreed, trying hard not to smile at Joe's obvious discomfort. "You're such a lucky girl, Kathy. Joe's quite the catch, you know. Every girl in Bayport wants him for her own."

Joe's face was red with embarrassment. He untangled himself from Kathy and moved over to the bar. "Oh, hi, Emily. Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Much," Emily replied. "And I can't wait to get back to work on Nancy's case. I'm headed out of here right now, as a matter of fact."

"Um, maybe you shouldn't go back to the monastery after what happened there last night," Joe said.

"No, I'm sure it'll be fine." Emily picked up her leather tote bag and patted it. "I have to get back to my research and being in the monastery library is essential for it. Besides…I really need some fresh air."

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea. Somebody obviously has issues with you and Nancy investigating." Joe took a step toward her. "I'm not sure it's safe."

Emily hurriedly grabbed Bess's arm. "I doubt there'll be any problems. Frank's there and Bess will come with me. Won't you, Bess?"

"Of course." She grinned widely. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

OOOoooOOO

"Gone?" Nancy's voice echoed the priest's cry. "You don't mean..." She pushed past Father Xavier and stepped into the chapel.

Frank followed and found her gazing above the chapel's altar to the spot where he assumed the statue had been displayed for veneration. It was empty.

Frank watched silently as Nancy moved directly in front of the altar and climbed onto one of the velvet chairs positioned there. Standing almost on her tip toes, she began inspecting the golden ledge where the statue had rested. At this point, his curiosity got the best of him.

"Nan? What's going on?"

"Father Betrand was attacked and hit over the head. He was taken away in an ambulance. Unfortunately, he was still unconscious, so I have no idea what happened." She sighed and pointed to the golden ledge. "And now the Madonna is missing."

Frank gazed around the small chapel. "This must have happened this morning. Nothing was disturbed in here when we were all trying to find you and Emily last night."

Nancy jumped off the chair, dropped to her knees, and started examining the marble tiled floor. "So, sometime between one and five a.m. then?"

"That would be my guess."

Frank frowned at a free-standing velvet covered kneeler near the altar. It was slightly askew. He bent down and noticed something.

"Nan?" He held up a silver colored, old-fashioned key, with a red ribbon attached to it.

Nancy leaped to her feet. "Where did you find that?"

Frank gestured to the floor. "Right here. This kneeler was crooked, and the key was sticking out from underneath it." He noticed the flush on her cheeks and the sparkle of excitement in her eyes. "I take it this is important somehow."

"It might be, if it fits the lock I think it will." She reached up and kissed Frank hard and fast. "You're amazing, Hardy. I love you."

"Glad to be of help." He smiled as Nancy rushed past him, and he followed her out of the chapel and into the main part of the cathedral.

"She is gone?" Father Xavier grabbed Nancy's shoulders. "She has not just fallen? She is gone?"

Nancy sighed. "The statue is missing, Father. But we'll get her back. I promise."

Father Xavier sank down onto the marble steps leading into the small chapel, leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands.

"She is not pleased with us or she would not have left. We are being punished."

OOOoooOOO

Emily quickly wrapped her scarf around her neck as she stepped out of the hotel lobby and into the frigid early morning air.

Bess grabbed her arm and they huddled together for warmth as they made their way across the courtyard leading to the cathedral.

"Oh, Joe is so mad at you," Bess said, her teeth chattering.

Emily giggled. "He'll get over it. Besides, he has Kathy's case to work on. And that girl does not want me around."

"Really?" Bess teased. "What was your first clue?"

"I think it was the laser beams coming out of her eyes," Emily said as they approached the door to the monastery.

"Oh see, now I thought it was more evident when her hair turned into a bunch of hissing snake heads. The Medusa effect was really good, didn't you think?"

"Definitely," Emily agreed with a laugh. "Joe won't have time to worry about me with Kathy around, that's for sure."

The girls' conversation ended when Guillaume yanked open the monastery door, grabbed both Emily and Bess by the arms, and pulled them into the foyer in an uncharacteristically forceful manner.

"Guillaume, what's wrong?" Emily asked him in French.

"Oh, Mademoiselle, il est terrible!" Guillaume's eyes were wide with fright. "Venez avec moi."

Emily thought he must be horribly distressed, because he reached down and took both girls' hands, practically dragging them down the hallway and into the cathedral. She looked over at Bess whose eyes were wide, then up at Guillaume.

"Is Nancy all right?" Emily asked.

Guillaume pulled open the door to the cathedral and pulled her through it after him. "Oui, Mademoiselle Drew est bien. Il est..."

He couldn't continue past the trail of blood still present on the marble altar steps. The girls followed his gaze and gasped.

"I'm afraid to ask," Bess whispered.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy eyed Joe suspiciously from her seat on the sofa. She thought he looked angry and irritated. She couldn't decide if that was good or not. Clearly he was upset with Emily. But why? What did he care whether she went over to the monastery or not?

She knew Emily had been one of the girls at the ball last night. Joe had seemed preoccupied with her then, too. But after the way Emily talked about Joe today, Kathy was almost positive she wasn't interested in him. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep her eyes open. Because nobody was going to get between her and her man.

Kathy watched as Joe walked over to the table and roughly pulled out a chair. He sat down and grabbed the yellow legal pad that was sitting there and began scribbling furiously. She watched him for a few moments, then wandered over and took the seat across from him.

"What are you working on? My case?"

"No."

"Well what then?"

Joe sighed. "Something else."

"You shouldn't be working on something else," Kathy reminded him. "You should be trying to catch the lunatic who's stalking me."

Joe looked up at her. "Don't worry, Kathy. Your case is our primary focus. Believe me."

She snorted. "You could've fooled me. You haven't been anywhere near me in two days."

Joe tossed down the pen. "You were safe. And sometimes in order to work on a case, some actual investigating is required."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I have to physically pursue evidence."

She stared at him. "So I've heard. That's all everyone's been telling me for the past forty-eight hours. 'Joe's investigating'. Just exactly what does that mean? What have you uncovered during your huge investigation?"

He looked at her intently for a moment and she squirmed in her seat.

"Okay," he began. "Here's what we know. Whoever is doing this is someone close to you. Someone you consider a friend."

Her eyes grew wide. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Because nobody else except someone close to you would have the information necessary to stalk you the way they are."

"B-but," she sputtered. "Someone I know? Someone who's here now?" She forced tears to her eyes. "I don't believe you. It can't be true."

Joe shrugged. "The evidence doesn't lie."

"But who? Who would want to do this to me?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

Not anytime soon, she thought. Her plans for Joe didn't involve him discovering the identity of her stalker…ever.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy paused in her conversation with Frank when she heard the large wooden door from the monastery open into the cathedral. She spotted Bess and Emily with Guillaume and waved for them to come to her.

The girls paused at the altar, staring down at the bloodied steps.

"What on earth–" Bess began as Nancy approached her.

"Father Bertrand was attacked," Nancy said, anticipating the rest of her question.

Emily clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no." Tears filled her eyes and Guillaume helped her sit down in a pew.

"Is he...?" Bess whispered.

"He was alive when the ambulance took him away," Nancy said. He was hit on the head. And the Madonna statue has been stolen."

"What?" Emily gasped.

And it was Nancy's worse nightmare come true. Not only was she no closer to finding the monstrance than she was five days ago, but now another artifact had been stolen. One even more precious and important than the monstrance.

Frank approached Bess and Emily. "It must have happened after we took you back to the hotel. Very early this morning, apparently."

He turned to Father Xavier. "Why would Father Bertrand have been in the cathedral at that time?"

Father Xavier shrugged. "Many reasons. He may have been preparing for Mass or straightening up the altar from last night. Depending on when this happened, he could have been ready to unlock the doors. We open the cathedral at six a.m."

"And yet, all of the doors were locked when you discovered him at six-fifteen," Frank continued. "Which means he hadn't gotten around to doing that yet."

"Which means that whoever did this had some other way of getting into the cathedral," Nancy added.

The side door to the cathedral opened and a young brother gestured for Father Xavier.

"The police must have arrived," the priest said. "I need to greet them and escort them in here."

Father Xavier gestured for Guillaume to accompany him, then headed back into the monastery.

Nancy reached into the pocket of her jeans and fished out the key Frank had given her. "I don't want anyone else to know, but look at this. Frank found it in the Lady's chapel this morning."

"Does that unlock what I think it does?" Emily asked, walking over to Nancy and Frank.

"Only one way to find out," Nancy said, as she hurried up the marble steps leading to the main altar gate.

She slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The tumbler popped and the gate creaked open.

OOOoooOOO

Joe sighed with relief as he entered his bedroom and locked the door behind him. He didn't know how long he'd be able to escape Kathy, but he was going to take full advantage of the break she'd given him by taking the longest shower in history.

Grabbing some clean clothes out of his closet, he walked into the bathroom and turned the water on full blast. Then he reached backwards and locked the bathroom door as well. There was no way in hell that Kathy was going to sneak in on him while he was in the shower.

He stripped off his clothes and stepped underneath the spray, letting the hot water pound down on his back and shoulders. He could feel the knots forming there every time he was in the same room with Kathy. His shoulders were so tight now, he was sure they'd be up to his ears by the time this case was over.

And getting this case over with was exactly what he was going to work on today. He had to find a way to unmistakably prove that Kathy was her own stalker. He needed irrefutable evidence that she couldn't accuse him of planting. Maybe he should try and get some surveillance cameras. Or give the agents trailing her some cameras. Because they needed to catch her in the act. And Kathy Martin was proving to be much smarter than Joe had given her credit for.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Thank you, thank you to Caranath, max2013, catlover1033, Stork Hardy, Jackie, bhar, Lady Emily, zenfrodo and Vinsmouse for the reviews! I always love reading what you have to say. And thank you to those reading as well. Back to the mystery!

Chapter 20

As Nancy removed the old key from the now opened main altar gate, she turned to Frank. "Like I said, you're a genius, Hardy."

Frank laughed. "Well, if practically tripping over the evidence is genius, then yes, I guess I qualify today."

Nancy hugged him. "I don't care how you found this key, just that you did."

Because this represented the first real clue she'd gotten in this case. She'd known all along that if she and Frank could just work together, this mystery would be solved in no time. He was an amazing detective.

Emily walked up to the altar gate and swung it back and forth on its stiff and squeaky hinges. "So this key was just lying on the floor of the Lady's chapel?"

"Sort of." Frank took the key from Nancy and examined it. "It was sticking out from underneath one of those portable kneelers. I just reached down and picked it up."

"Maybe that's where the perpetrator was hiding it," Nancy mused. "I need to examine that kneeler for more clues."

"You'd better hurry," Bess said. "Father Xavier will be back any minute…with the police."

"You're right," Nancy agreed. "Lock that gate before anyone sees it. I'll be in the chapel."

Nancy dashed across the marble floor of the cathedral and skidded through the door of the Lady's chapel.

She hurried over to the dark wood kneeler and began feeling around the red velvet cushions on the top and bottom. Not finding anything, she slipped her hand into the wooden compartment where prayer books and hymnals were stored. Her hand brushed over a small piece of paper. Nancy pulled it out and unfolded it. One word was handwritten on it. _Ombrellino_. What on earth did that mean? It looked Italian. Hopefully Emily could translate it for her. Art history used a lot of Italian terms.

She hurriedly stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans when she heard other male voices in the cathedral. The police had arrived. Swell.

OOOoooOOO

Later that afternoon in the hotel suite, Joe watched silently as Nancy, Bess and Emily sat at the table, going over each and every document they'd taken from the monastery, hoping to find something that might give them a clue as to who could have stolen the artifacts.

Kathy was seated in the armchair staring at him, her arms crossed in front of her, and a scowl on her face. Joe was ignoring her and he knew she didn't like it one bit. But since Tammy and Lauren had decided to go skiing, and since Kathy had refused to go with only the feds watching her, Joe was stuck with her.

He looked up as Frank entered the room, took in the scene in front of him, and smiled. Joe didn't know what there was to smile about. He was completely miserable, and having a hard time not showing it.

"Find anything yet?" Frank asked as he strolled over to Nancy, placed his hands on her shoulders, and began to rub her neck.

"Not yet," Nancy said, dropping her head down. "Thanks, honey. That feels amazing."

Joe shifted restlessly on the couch. He needed to be a part of this. Doing something he felt was important. Not to mention, he needed to watch over Emily so nothing like her being thrown in a dungeon and left for dead ever happened again.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Frank continued.

"Not really." Emily's eyes welled up with tears. "It's so sad, Frank. Father Bertrand is the nicest man. Who would want to hurt him?"

"I don't know," he replied. "There are a lot of sick people out there."

"Yeah," Kathy chimed in. "Like the nut job chasing me, for one. I'm really starting to get tired of it. I'm a prisoner on my own vacation. I was too scared to even go out and ski today." She pouted in Joe's direction.

Joe fumed inwardly. Kathy had to be the most selfish, obnoxious, and immature person he'd ever met in his life. He honestly didn't know how much longer he could even stand to be in the same room with her.

Emily bent her head forward. "I'd really like to go to the hospital and see him. Is there any way we can do that?"

"Well, it's all the way in Geneva," Nancy reminded her. "And it's probably best if we stay here and try to figure out what's going on. We don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Emily nodded and wiped her eyes. "You're right." She picked up the paper she'd been studying and began reading it once more.

Joe watched her silently, his arms aching to hold her. She looked so sad. He couldn't stand being this close to her and not being able to touch her or comfort her.

"Hey!" Kathy was waving her hand in his face. "I was calling you, didn't you hear me?"

"I guess not," Joe said with a sigh. "Sorry."

"I'm bored," she whined. "I need to get out of this suite. Will you take me shopping or something?"

"Shopping?" Joe was stricken. He didn't go shopping. And going shopping with Kathy would be his worst nightmare.

"You're supposed to be watching me. And I want to leave. If you want me to go by myself, then fine, I'll go. But I'm not staying here one more minute." She placed her hands on her hips and moved closer, blocking Joe's view of the table…and Emily.

Joe glanced at his watch, then stood. "One hour. I will go shopping for one hour. Take it or leave it."

Kathy threw herself at him and hugged him. "That's all the time I need." She jumped up and ran for her bedroom to get ready.

Joe sighed in exasperation. He needed to come up with something to trap Kathy at her own game. Yesterday.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy groaned and tossed her pen down on the pile of papers in front of her. "I give up. We have been poring over these documents all afternoon. None of it even makes sense anymore."

Her eyes were swimming from trying to decipher pages of archaic documents written in either Latin or French. Her high school French wasn't helping her much, and she was worried that the articles that were in English might have lost something in the translation .

Frank smiled and sat in the chair next to her. "Here. Let me take a look at what you've got. Maybe a pair of fresh eyes will help."

"Please," Nancy said, gratefully sliding the papers toward him. "I feel like we're getting nowhere on this, and we're running out of time. If only I hadn't promised Father Xavier we would find the artifacts."

"Don't give up yet, babe." Frank picked up Nancy's notes and scanned the top sheet. "Tell me what you've learned."

"We have a missing monstrance, a stolen statue, another key to an altar gate where we thought there was only one, and a perpetrator desperate enough to try and kill me and Emily, because they think we know something we clearly don't," she said exasperated.

And it was that something that was driving her crazy. She felt like she should know what it was. It was tickling the back of her brain, but she couldn't seem to put it all together and figure it out. Maybe she needed a nap.

"Frank, we've been reading and re-reading these documents, trying to find what we've overlooked," Emily chimed in. "But nothing's clicking."

Frank leaned back in his chair. "Well, then maybe what you know isn't in the documents. Tell me something else."

"Wait a minute!" Nancy said. "I almost forgot. I found this note in the wooden compartment of the kneeler in the Lady's chapel. You know, where they keep the hymnals."

She pulled out the small piece of paper and handed it to Emily. "I think it's Italian. Do you know what it means?"

Emily unfolded the paper. "Umbrella."

"What?"

"It means 'umbrella' or 'parasol.'"

Nancy sighed, disappointment washing over her. "I thought it was a clue, not a shopping list."

Frank squeezed her hand. "Don't be discouraged. Think hard and tell me what you know for sure about this case."

"Whoever kidnapped us is on the inside," Nancy said. "No one else knows what's going on."

He nodded. "I think so, too. So that narrows it down."

Nancy shrugged. "I don't know. There are so many people in that monastery. It's huge."

"True, but the people who know you and what you're up to has to be fairly small. I mean, Father Bertrand doesn't want the information about the monstrance getting out, right? That would limit the amount of people he tells."

"Yes." Nancy turned to Frank. "So there are only maybe a dozen people who really know why we're there."

That did give her some hope. Even though the monastery was home to hundreds of monks and others who served there, hardly anyone even knew Nancy was there, let alone what she was doing.

"But what about the Madonna statue?" Bess asked. "Everyone's going to notice it's gone."

"Father Xavier is going to tell people that it's being cleaned in preparation for the pilgrimage visitors," Nancy explained.

"What about what happened to Father Bertrand?" Bess continued.

Nancy sighed. "That's a little harder, but he's going to try to make it seem like it was just a random act of violence."

"So, the police aren't ever going to be told about the statue?" Frank asked.

Nancy shook her head.

He leaned forward again, and reached for the legal pad. "Okay, that leaves Father Xavier, Father Bertrand, and who else? Who else knows you?"

"Um, the priests just underneath Father Bertrand. That would be Father Xavier, and the priest in charge of the library, Father Charles. Dr. Delacroix, I suppose, although I'm not sure he knows exactly why we're there, and Guillaume," Nancy concluded.

Bess snorted. "Guillaume? The only thing he's interested in is Emily."

Emily looked at her sharply. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please. Don't even try to deny it." Bess laughed. "He follows you around with those big brown puppy dog eyes, just hoping you'll glance his way."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Be serious, Bess."

"I am serious." Her smile showed her dimples. "He's got it bad."

Frank looked puzzled. "Isn't he a monk?"

"Yep," Bess continued. "A monk with raging hormones and the hots for Emily."

"He's not a monk," Emily corrected. "He's a candidate. And Bess is full of it."

"I'm not so sure she is," Nancy said, with a teasing smile. "I'd say he's pretty smitten, Em."

"I swear I haven't done one thing to encourage him."

Now it was Bess's turn to roll her eyes. "Excuse me? Does anyone have a mirror Emily could borrow? You don't have to _do_ anything." She sighed. "I wish I could say that I was tempting enough to de-frock a monk. Especially that one. He's gorgeous."

Emily laughed as she crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it at Bess. "I haven't de-frocked anyone."

Bess ducked and grinned at her. "Whatever."

Frank cleared his throat. "Could we get back to the case?" Then he set down the legal pad and turned to Emily with a grin. "A monk? Oh, Joe's going to love this."

She shoved him as her face turned a vivid shade of red. "Don't you dare."

Suddenly Nancy stood up. "I've got it. I know what we missed!"


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **A huge thank you to max2013, Caranath, Guest, Jackie, ILoveMom, catlover1033, zenfrodo, Lady Emily, Leya, Vinsmouse, Stork Hardy, and Guest for their reviews! You guys rock! Time to go shopping with Joe. Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 21

Forty-five minutes later, Kathy had dragged Joe through every boutique and shop open for business in the tiny resort town. They were now at what Joe had warned her was the last stop. It was a small, pricey, clothing store near their hotel. Kathy was in the changing room, trying on what Joe thought was probably another hundred or so outfits.

He wandered to the window in the front of the boutique that overlooked the town square. A large, spectacular fountain formed the center of a plaza-like area, with benches surrounding it. Even though the water was turned off due to the freezing temperatures, people still milled around in the noonday sunshine.

Joe was gazing at the crowd, when he noticed Simone approaching one of the benches. She exchanged glances with a man seated there, yet she continued to stroll past him.

That's interesting, Joe thought, watching as she walked around the perimeter of the fountain. The man, who had his back to Joe, stood, caught Simone's eye again, and then wandered off through the crowd near the edge of the town square.

Simone hurried over to the bench where he'd been sitting, bent down and picked up what appeared to be a paperback novel. That was weird.

Joe looked in the direction where the man had disappeared, but he was nowhere to be found. Simone slipped the book into her purse and strode off toward the hotel. While Joe was trying to figure it all out, Kathy came bouncing out of the dressing room.

"Oh, Joe, I found the most gorgeous sweater. It's absolutely heavenly. I have to have it."

"Great," he replied, hardly even hearing what she'd said. "Hey Kathy, does Simone know anyone in this town? Besides anyone with us, I mean?"

Kathy shrugged as she handed the salesclerk behind the counter an armful of clothing, then began to spin a turnstile of earrings on a table display. "I don't know. She hasn't said anything."

"Where is she from?"

Kathy held up a dangly pair of silver hoops to her ears. "Um, somewhere in France. Why?"

"And what exactly does she do for your father? What's her job title?"

Kathy pursed her lips. "I guess she manages his European properties. We have an apartment in Paris and another house in Italy. Why are you asking about Simone?"

"I'm a detective. It's what I do."

And Simone's behavior looked all kinds of suspicious to him. The expression on her face when she went to pick up the book had been one of guilt…like she was afraid she was doing something not quite on the level. And that made Joe's radar go off.

Kathy obviously needed help pulling off her stalker scheme. Maybe Simone was behind it, and the guy she met was the one doing all the dirty work. The one who'd ransacked the room and made the phone calls. It was worth looking into.

Kathy turned her attention to the salesgirl and gestured toward Joe. "Can you just have these sent over to the St. Sylvie Hotel? I think he already has enough packages to carry."

"Of course, Mademoiselle," the girl murmured, grabbing a pen to take down Kathy's room number.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy looked at Frank, barely able to contain her excitement. "We made a huge assumption about why these artifacts were taken and I think we're wrong."

"Explain," Frank said.

"Well, we thought that these items were stolen because someone wanted them either for their monetary worth, their own personal art collection, or to resell on the black market, right?" Nancy scanned the eyes of her friends.

"Isn't that natural?" Bess asked. "I mean, the jewels on that monstrance alone put its value upwards of two million dollars. And that's a conservative estimate. Right?" She looked at Emily.

"I'd say so. That's the market value for some of the gems, but when taken as an entire artifact, it could command an even higher price."

"But what if that wasn't the reason it was stolen?" Nancy persisted. Because she knew now that it wasn't. They'd missed the most obvious motivation for taking a religious artifact by reducing the statue and the monstrance to their monetary value.

"You mean someone took it for another reason?" Frank asked.

"Yes." Nancy nodded vigorously. "The legends surrounding these two pieces are amazing. Father Bertrand told us the pilgrims believe that the monstrance actually descended from heaven. And we all read the history of the miracles the pilgrims have attributed to the Madonna statue."

Emily cocked her head. "So you think whoever took these was motivated by religion and the power they believe is inherent in these artifacts?"

"I do," Nancy said. "We weren't getting anywhere trying to find a trail through legitimate museum connections or art dealers, because there wasn't one. I think we need to start investigating the religious significance of these pieces a little more, and figure out who might want them for that reason."

Nancy felt confident that once they began looking more closely in that direction, things would start falling into place. And she didn't want to waste any more time sitting around talking about it.

Frank reached over and squeezed her hand. "I think you're probably right. While I'm sure the statue is valuable, I don't think that's why it was stolen either. There are other artifacts in the monastery that are worth more money, aren't there, Em?"

"Definitely. Lots of them. And they're more accessible, too."

"So what now?" Bess asked.

"We need to go back to the cathedral and start digging around some more," Nancy said, pushing back her chair to stand. She turned to Frank. "Will you come with me?"

"I'm not letting you go alone."

Nancy rolled her eyes, then leaned in and kissed him affectionately. "I'm starting to like this protective nature of yours."

He stood and hugged her close. "Good. Because I'm not changing it."

Nancy smiled against his chest. Being taken care of was really starting to grow on her. What she would have considered a chauvinistic comment from Frank a year ago, now sounded sweet and endearing. Or, as her friend George said, she was starting to lose the giant chip on her shoulder where men were concerned. Or at least where this man was concerned.

"Can I come, too?" Emily asked. "I'd like to go over some of the books in the library again. Besides, I really don't want to be here when Kathy and Joe get back from their shopping trip."

Frank chuckled. "Of course you can. That's half the reason I'm going."

Nancy slapped him playfully. "And here I was convinced that you were only interested in my well-being."

"You know I am, babe. But if I can get out of watching another display by 'Her Majesty', I'm all for it."

"I'll stay," Bess said, popping a grape from the fruit bowl on the table into her mouth. "She makes me laugh. Well, let me correct that. Watching Joe try to squirm away from her makes me laugh."

"You have a cruel streak, Bess. You know that?" Frank said, a broad smile on his face.

Bess arched an eyebrow and popped another grape into her mouth for a reply.

"Tell Joe we'll be a few hours," Nancy said. "Maybe we'll be back for dinner."

"Or maybe not," Emily whispered.

Nancy knew that Emily's patience with Kathy had come to an end. And she didn't blame her one bit.

"Or maybe not," she echoed.

OOOoooOOO

Bess looked up as the door to the suite opened and Kathy breezed in with Joe behind her. At least Bess thought it was Joe. She couldn't really tell, because he was almost covered in packages and large bags of what appeared to be clothing.

"You can bring those into my room," Kathy ordered with a wave of her hand.

"I can bring them right here," Joe said, unceremoniously dumping everything onto one of the living room couches.

"Joe," Kathy squealed. "Don't! You might wrinkle something."

He gave her a look, then turned in Bess's direction. She smiled at the exasperated expression on his face.

"Have fun shopping?" she asked brightly.

"Not quite as much fun as if I'd gotten a root canal," he muttered. "Where is everyone?"

"Hmm, well, Tammy and Lauren went skiing. Louis went out for lunch. Simone just came back from running her errands, and everyone else went over to the monastery."

Joe looked at Bess questioningly.

"Nancy felt like they'd been approaching the case all wrong," Bess explained. "She thinks that the artifacts were taken for religious reasons and not for monetary gain."

"Swell, so the person doing this is some sort of religious fanatic?"

Bess shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. We'll see what they find out later. Nancy thought they'd be back for dinner."

"Is Frank with them?"

"Yes." She gave him a meaningful look, knowing that Joe was really asking about Emily. "Don't worry, okay?"

He nodded, then glanced at Kathy who was rummaging through her purchases. He turned back to Bess. "Did you say Simone is here?"

"Yeah, she got back a little while after everyone left for the monastery."

"How'd she seem?"

"Fine," Bess said. "She's been in her room ever since."

Joe moved closer to Bess. "Do you think you could distract Kathy for a while? I need to check on some things."

"Sure. I'll just ask to see what she bought."

"Half this town. That's what she bought," Joe grumbled as he headed for his room.

Bess laughed and went over to the couch exclaiming over a sweater Kathy held up for her to see.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy burst through the door of the monastery library with Frank and Emily right behind her. A clearly startled Guillaume looked up from some books he was re-shelving.

"Quel est erroné?"

Nancy hurried over to him and grabbed his arm. "We need your help. We have to look up the origins of these artifacts again. We think we might have missed something. Can you help us?"

She noticed he was staring at her blankly, and once again Nancy regretted not paying more attention in her high school French classes.

Emily stepped forward and translated Nancy's request. Guillaume nodded and headed for the bookshelves.

OOOoooOOO

Joe unlocked his suitcase and removed his notes on the case. He sat on the edge of the bed and began going over what he'd written.

Picking up a pen, he turned to a blank sheet of paper in the legal pad and wrote Simone's initials across the top. She'd been a puzzle to him since they'd first arrived. She'd never been very friendly…to the point that Joe wondered if she resented his presence.

Could she really be the one helping Kathy with her stalking scheme? Simone had been present when both notes they'd gotten in the suite were received. She'd also been in the suite right before it was trashed.

Maybe this was all some big scheme to blackmail the senator, and Kathy was just a pawn in it.

He made a few notations on what he'd observed in the plaza, including a description of the man she appeared to be communicating with. He only wished he could have seen more than the back of the guy's head.

He heard an additional voice in the living room and picking up his notebook, cracked opened his bedroom door and peeked through. He watched as Simone approached the bar and poured herself a drink. She seemed to take no notice of Bess or Kathy, as she hurriedly took a healthy swallow of brandy.

Hmm, she looked like she needed that. She was upset about something.

Now all he had to do was figure out what was bothering her. And if it had anything to do with his case.

OOOoooOOO

Emily was seated in the library trying to translate a Latin letter written in sixteen twenty-two by a Catholic bishop. It mentioned the Madonna statue, and she thought there might be some value in it, but she was having a hard time with it. The handwriting itself was almost indecipherable. She leaned back in her chair and was rubbing her eyes when Frank spoke up.

"I think I may have found something," he said, turning the page of a book on the history of the cathedral.

"What?" Nancy asked, leaning eagerly over his shoulder.

"Well, we already know that the monstrance and the statue originally belonged to another cathedral, right?"

"Yes, in France," Emily agreed. "They were removed after a fire, weren't they?"

"Yes, and then they were apparently both stolen by robbers when they were being transported back to that cathedral. Or what was left of it," Frank said.

Now that, Emily didn't know.

"Stolen?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, apparently the statue was traveling in a type of religious caravan back to its original home. Sort of a pilgrimage in reverse," Frank said. "Anyway, people were giving gold and coins to the caravan to help rebuild the cathedral, and that's what the thieves were really after. But during the robbery, they grabbed the statue and the monstrance as well."

"So you're saying, they took the coins and gold the pilgrims donated, and then said, 'What the heck, we might as well take these, too?'" Nancy asked.

"Pretty much." Frank read more of the article. "Apparently the first cathedral where the artifacts were kept was considered miraculously consecrated by St. Peter, so the legend goes, and the monstrance and the Madonna statue were to remain there always as a testament to the holiness of the edifice."

"Refresh my memory. Why weren't they returned?" Emily asked. Because most churches and cathedrals were very proprietary about their artifacts. It wasn't customary to just remove them to another city. Especially when they were essentially stolen goods.

"Hang on." Frank turned the page. "Um, the statue and monstrance were eventually found discarded by the side of a road. I guess the thieves found them more of a liability than a prize. Anyway, they were returned to church officials, but the pope at the time refused to rebuild the original cathedral because of political problems in the region. This cathedral was constructed instead, and the pope ordered the artifacts placed here when it was completed."

Emily pursed her lips. "Frank, what year was this?"

He flipped through the book some more. "Looks like around thirteen eighty-nine or thirteen ninety."

"Well, that explains a lot." Emily let her chair thud forward.

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"The Western Schism. At that point in time the Catholic Church had two popes. One in Rome, and one in France…in Avignon. I'd be willing to bet that these artifacts were returned to the Roman pope, who then refused to give them back to any church in France."

Emily sighed in frustration. Getting politics, money and church officials all mixed up together could definitely muddy the waters as far as ownership of the artifacts went. It happened with artwork from this time period as well. And it would make this more difficult to get to the bottom of, since many records of that kind were often sealed by the church. Nobody wanted bad things about their history exposed, and the Catholic Church was no exception.

Frank nodded. "I'd forgotten about all of that. It makes sense though. These artifacts became the pawns in a power struggle. One that the Roman church apparently won."

Emily turned as she felt Guillaume touch her on the arm. He looked incredibly confused. Emily explained what she'd just said in French, and as she finished, his eyes grew wide and he jumped up from the table. He spoke in a flurry of French and it was Nancy and Frank's turn to look puzzled.

"What did he say?" Nancy demanded.

"He said he read an article in the newspaper two days ago." Emily's eyes met Nancy's. "It reported that a local group from the town where the artifacts originated is petitioning for the burned cathedral to be rebuilt."

OOOoooOOO

Joe continued to observe Simone through the crack in his bedroom door. She swallowed the last of the brandy in her glass and straightened her shoulders.

"I need to run another errand," she announced to the girls.

Kathy waved her hand dismissively. "Fine."

"Don't leave the suite," Simone ordered her.

Kathy rolled her eyes. "I won't. Unless Joe is with me."

Simone nodded, hastily pulled on her navy wool coat she'd left draped over the back of a wing chair in the living room, and slipped out the door of the suite.

Joe waited a moment, then entered the living room quietly. Kathy and Bess were gathering up her new purchases and heading into Kathy's room.

Joe paused until they were safely inside, then hurried across the living room to the hallway leading to Simone's room.

He opened her bedroom door and stepped inside, closing it softly behind him. He noticed her tote bag lying on the floor next to the bed, and knelt down beside it. Careful not to disturb its position, he slid his hand in and grabbed the paperback novel she'd picked up off the park bench. It appeared to be an ordinary novel, but it was written in French.

As Joe leafed through it, he noticed that certain letters on each page had been underlined. A message? He tucked the book into his shirt and hurried back to his room.

Grabbing the legal pad, he started at the beginning and began writing down each underlined letter as he encountered it. He sighed. I hope she's gone for a while. This could take a long time.

OOOoooOOO

"Someone wants the cathedral rebuilt?" Nancy exclaimed. "Who?"

Because this could be the key to everything. Especially if her theory was right and the statue and monstrance were taken for a religious reason and not a monetary one.

Emily questioned Guillaume further, then turned to Frank and Nancy.

"I guess a local group of townspeople who feel that their town has suffered the displeasure of God because they allowed the artifacts to be taken from them. They're being spurred on by a splinter group of the church. People who believe the church has become too modern and has abandoned its original tenets and mission. Sedevacantists. They reject the Vatican and its teachings and feel that the papal seat is vacant."

While Nancy was pondering this, Emily stood and gasped. "Ombrellino! Why didn't I think of this before?"

"What?" Frank asked.

Emily turned to Guillaume and said something in French. He nodded and ran over to a bookcase, grabbing a volume off the shelf. He opened it to a page of full colored emblems.

Nancy stood and moved behind Guillaume, peering over his shoulder. She'd never seen the symbols before, but her eyes widened when she realized they all contained a gold and silver key crossed over one another with a red ribbon between them. They looked exactly like the keys that opened the ancient altar gate. The one Frank found today was silver, but Father Bertrand's had been gold.

"What are these?" she whispered.

"It's the papal emblem. They're the keys of St. Peter. They designate papal authority and the power to act for God on earth," Emily explained.

She pointed to an emblem on the page with the keys at the bottom, but unlike the other symbols, this one did not have three gold crowns above it. It had a striped thing that Nancy thought looked exactly like a circus tent.

"The _ombrellino_, or _umbraculum_," Emily said. "This is the papal symbol during a _sede vacante,_ when the church is between popes, and the papal seat is empty. It's also the symbol used by groups of Catholics who believe the current pope is not truly the pope."

"That's who's behind all this," Frank said. "We need to find out who is spearheading the drive to rebuild the original cathedral, and I'm betting we'll find out who stole the artifacts."

Guillaume placed his hand gently on Emily's arm and said something else. Emily nodded as she turned to Frank and Nancy. "He's going to get the article. He thinks the paper is in Father Bertrand's office."

Nancy paced back and forth as Guillaume left the library. "If this is a local radical type group, they aren't going to have any problem just taking the statue and the monstrance, since they think they're only returning what they feel is rightfully theirs to begin with."

She paused. "I wonder if this hasn't appeared in some other paper. Where are the newspapers kept, Emily?"

"Over there." She stood and walked to a bookcase with newspapers filed on the shelves by their various languages. "Which ones were you interested in?"

"All of them," Nancy said, as she approached her and bent down to check the shelves.

OOO

As the girls began pulling out the papers, Frank looked up in response to a scraping sound he heard on the second floor balcony above them. He saw a marble statue teetering at the edge of the wrought iron railing. As he stood, it toppled over the edge, heading straight toward Nancy and Emily.

OOOoooOOO

Joe was still copying underlined words and letters from Simone's paperback book as rapidly as he could, when he heard someone fumbling with the front door of the suite. Damn it.

He shoved the book under his shirt and exited his room as quickly as possible. Flying through the still empty living room, he entered Simone's room. He slid the novel back into her tote bag and as he turned to leave the room, Simone entered.

"What do you think you're doing in here?"


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: **Big hugs of appreciation to max2013, Caranath, Lady Emily, Guest, zenfrodo, Jackie, Stork Hardy, Future Animator, ILoveMom, Guest, Vinsmouse, Guest, flowerlover, bhar, and Jazmine for taking time to leave a comment! I'll get you off the edge of that cliff now. ;) Thanks also to those reading! It's very much appreciated.

Chapter 22

The heavy marble statue teetered on its base, and Frank knew it was headed straight for the girls.

"Nan!"

Nancy turned to Frank, a question in her eyes.

He didn't have time to explain.

As the statue fell, it clipped the banister of the wrought iron circular staircase, and Frank prayed it would buy him the extra second or two he needed.

He dove for the girls.

Frank heard a spectacular crash as the statue hit the top of an oak bookcase and shattered. Chunks of marble and volumes of books rained down on them.

"Oof." He grunted as a piece of marble the size of a grapefruit landed on his upper thigh.

Frank ignored the pain as he tried to locate Nancy.

A cloud of white dust impaired his vision.

"Frank? Are you okay?"

Nancy.

He exhaled with relief and reached out for her.

"Nan, are you hurt?"

She eased herself up off the ground. "I-I don't think so. You shoved me out of the way."

Frank winced as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"But you are," Nancy said.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Is Emily okay?"

At that moment, the library door swung open, and Guillaume entered.

"Mon Dieu!" Guillaume exclaimed, letting the newspapers he'd been carrying flutter to the floor as he ran to the girls.

"Etes-vous bien?" he asked, pushing some rubble away from Emily.

"I-I think so."

Frank looked over at her. Emily was conscious and at least seemed okay. _Thank goodness for that._

Nancy brushed away some of the marble dust and statue fragments clinging to them. "Where did it hit you?"

Frank shook his head. "Not sure. My hip is a little sore, though."

Nancy began yanking his shirttail out of his pants and pulling it up. Frank could already see redness creeping along his side, just above his belt. Nancy reached out to unbuckle it, but Frank covered her hands with his own.

"It's okay, babe. I'm sure it's just a bruise."

"How can I tell without looking?"

"You're not going to pull my pants down in a monastery."

Frank gestured toward Guillaume, who was leaning over Emily. "Not with an audience."

Emily gasped as Guillaume attempted to get her to a standing position.

"Is she hurt?" Frank asked. "Em, are you all right?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "I think that chunk of the saint's hand bounced off the back of my arm, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Let me see." Frank worked his way over to her and touched her shoulder gently. Emily cried out then gave him a wan smile.

"It's okay. Don't worry."

"Can you move it?"

Emily was a lot smaller than he was. If she took the full brunt of any of that falling statue, she could be seriously injured.

She lifted her shoulder and grimaced. "Yeah. See?"

Frank was doubtful. Guillaume unleashed a stream of French, then left the room.

Emily sighed. "I wish he wouldn't do that."

"What's he doing?" Nancy asked.

"Getting the doctor."

Frank looked up at the balcony above them. "I'm afraid this was no accident. Someone wants you two out of the picture."

OOOoooOOO

Joe gave Simone one of his best smiles as she glared at him from the entrance to her bedroom.

"I'm looking for you, actually."

He gestured to the door.

"It was ajar, and I didn't know if you'd heard my knock, so I decided to come in. But, clearly, you didn't hear my knock, because you weren't here."

"What do you want?"

"I, um, I wanted to ask you some questions," he said. "About Kathy. And I didn't want her knowing I was asking you."

Simone paused for a moment, giving Joe a penetrating stare with her intense brown eyes. He willed himself not to squirm. Finally she nodded.

"Okay, ask."

"I want to know about Kathy's relationship with her father," Joe said. "Are they close?"

Simone shrugged. "Not especially. I mean, the senator loves his daughter, but he doesn't have much time for her."

"Is she okay with that?"

"No, she's not. She's a spoiled brat. Surely, I don't need to tell you that."

Simone removed her overcoat and hung it up in her closet.

"She whines to get his attention and he shuts her up by buying her things."

"That sounds rather callous."

Simone turned to face him. "It's the truth in a nutshell. She's desperate for affection he doesn't have time, or doesn't know how, to give. I've told him that he'll regret it someday, but what do I know, right? I'm only an employee."

"Does she have any siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? Anyone else she can turn to?"

"No," Simone replied. "Her mother died when she was three years old. She's an only child. Her father never remarried. She's a boarding school brat. She can't come home during most holidays, because her father isn't there. He makes time at Christmas. A day or two. She's been raised by the household staff. And most of them can't stand her."

Joe suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for Kathy. She truly was a lost soul with no anchor and no real love in her life. She was screaming for attention that nobody was giving her, so she was getting it however she could. Right now by stalking him. He looked at Simone.

"Thanks. That helps me understand her a little better."

She shrugged and picked her tote bag up from the floor. She immediately checked its contents and seemed to relax when she saw that her novel was still there. Joe headed for the door.

"I'll see you later," he said, exiting the bedroom and exhaling a sigh of relief.

OOOoooOOO

Frank squeezed Emily's hand. "I think getting the doctor is a good thing."

Because Joe was going to freak out when he heard about this, and Frank wanted to make sure he could tell his brother with one hundred percent certainty that Emily was not seriously injured.

He struggled to his feet and looked down at the marble fragments. "I think the fall knocked the statue's head off. That's the part that hit me."

Emily smiled. "His head was already knocked off. It's St. Denis. He was decapitated with a sword in martyrdom, so sculptors always carve him carrying his head in his hands."

"Then he's really no worse for the wear, is he?"

"Probably not. Especially since the Catholic legend surrounding him says that he picked his head up, walked six miles, and continued preaching the entire time."

Frank chuckled. "No wonder he's a saint."

He gestured to the balcony. "I'm going upstairs to see if there are any clues about who pushed this statue down on you two."

"You can barely stand," Nancy objected. "How about I go and you wait here?"

Frank shook his head. "Can't let you do that. It might be dangerous."

"Frank, please," Nancy argued. "I'd say the more dangerous spot is down here."

He sighed. "I think the whole place may be dangerous. At least for you and Emily."

Frank looked at his brother's girlfriend. "Stay right here with Guillaume until I get back. Understand?"

Emily nodded. "I'll be fine."

Frank walked stiffly to the circular wrought iron staircase with Nancy at his heels. He grimaced each time he lifted his right leg to take a step, but he kept climbing. He could feel Nancy glaring her disapproval at his back.

When they reached the top, he paused and turned to his girlfriend. "The statue was on that pedestal, right?"

Nancy stepped around him, walking quickly down the length of the balcony to the pedestal, which had been pushed over and was now leaning against the balcony railing. "Someone must have stood back here and shoved the whole thing forward."

Frank reached her slowly. "That someone must have been fairly strong."

"Yeah," Nancy nodded. "Marble is really heavy."

"No kidding. It weighs one hundred-seventy pounds per cubic foot. And I definitely felt a few of those pounds land square on my thigh."

"How did the person escape without us seeing them?" Nancy looked around. "They certainly didn't use the stairs."

She continued down the length of balcony, peering between the bookshelves.

Frank leaned against the railing and tried to catch his breath without taking his eyes off Nancy.

"I found it," she said. "Another entrance."

She pushed on a door, painted in the trompe l'oeil style, so that it appeared to be just another section of wall between the bookcases. Frank caught up to her and they stepped into a hallway of the monastery. It was empty.

He moved slowly behind her as Nancy ventured down the hall.

"Frank, these are individual dorm rooms. This must be the floor where the monks sleep."

And that meant that almost anyone could have entered the library, pushed over the statue, and made his escape. The doors were windowless, and Frank knew that knocking on each one individually would be a waste of time. Whoever had done this had gotten away scot-free. For now.

"Nan, I want to check around the pedestal again."

It was probably unlikely, but he was hoping to find a clue.

They walked back into the second floor of the library and Frank made his way to the pillar where the statue had been resting. He bent down, ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg, and examined the base.

"This hasn't been moved in years," he commented, pointing to the markings on the floor. "And it's so heavy, it actually impressed itself into the wooden floor."

Nancy nodded. "So somebody fairly strong, who knew we were here, snuck in through that door, waited until we were directly underneath this statue, then pushed it over and escaped. Who could have planned that?"

Frank shook his head. "It wasn't planned. It was a crime of opportunity."

"Whoever did this was spying on us?"

"Yeah, and then when you and Emily came over to get the newspapers, he decided to go for it."

"So we must have hit the nail on the head with our theory." Nancy's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"I'd say so. Whoever it was obviously felt threatened."

Frank straightened up, trying as hard as he could not to let the burning pain he felt in his thigh show on his face

Nancy frowned and furrowed her brow. "Come here."

But there was no fooling his girlfriend.

She led him between two bookshelves and quickly undid his belt.

Frank grinned at her. "Babe, normally I would rate this very high on the scale of forbidden pleasure – and take you up on it, but I'm not really sure this is the time."

"You're starting to sound like Joe."

Nancy undid his zipper and Frank squirmed a little. He hadn't spent enough time with her on this trip, and that simple gesture had his mind quickly moving in a carnal direction.

She gave him a wicked smile. "This would be fun, wouldn't it?"

"Nan," he warned. She wasn't helping.

"Sadly, you're out of luck at the moment. I'm only checking for injuries."

She slid his khakis down past his hips a bit and sucked in her breath.

"Oh, honey." She ran her hand over his hip and upper thigh and looked at him anxiously. "You're already bruising."

Frank had figured as much. He didn't think he'd broken anything, but he knew the bruise was going to be a killer. If only St. Denis hadn't been holding his head.

"Does this hurt?" Nancy ran her fingers over him again, lightly.

"I wouldn't say 'hurt' exactly."

Frank couldn't resist teasing her. She looked worried and he didn't like that.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Now who's being bad?"

She tugged up his pants as the main door of the library opened and Guillaume and the doctor stepped inside.

"What on earth?" Dr. Delacroix's jaw went slack as he took in the scene in front of him.

Guillaume tugged on his arm and gestured to Emily. The doctor hurried toward her and knelt down.

"Did that statue fall from the balcony? Good heavens, you could have been killed!"

"I think that was the general idea," Nancy called out as she descended the staircase.

Frank limped along behind her, trying to downplay his injury. He didn't want to waste time with the doctor when he should be investigating. This was the second attempt on Nancy's life in two days. He was determined to find whoever was doing this and teach him a lesson he would never forget. Preferably one that involved a hospital stay.

Dr. Delacroix paused as he opened his black bag. "Are you saying this was done on purpose?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Nancy took Frank's arm and led him over to the doctor. "Would you be sure to check him as well?"

"Nan," Frank protested, "that's not necessary."

He knew what a bad bruise felt like. He'd had too many over his career.

"I say it is." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "No arguments, Hardy."

Dr. Delacroix looked around the library. "What on earth is going on in this place? First, someone locks you in the dungeon, then Father Bertrand's attacked, and now this?"

He gestured around helplessly. "I don't understand. This is supposed to be a safe place. A holy place. I don't think I've ever encountered more violence in such a short time than I have in this monastery."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Frank said dryly. "Religion provokes passionate feelings. Usually for good. But sometimes, for evil."

"I think we need to call the police," Dr. Delacroix said firmly. "Before something worse happens."

"Guillaume, maybe you should get Father Xavier first. We'll let him decide," Nancy suggested.

"Père Xavier?" He nodded and stood. He started to leave, then hesitated, looking down at Emily. "Va-t-elle être bien?"

Dr. Delacroix didn't look up as he began examining Emily's shoulder. "I think so. It doesn't appear to be broken, but we're going to stop by the infirmary and x-ray both of you, just to be sure."

He manipulated the joint a little bit, and Emily gasped in pain.

"I'm sorry. I had to do that."

Emily nodded silently, biting her lower lip.

Frank noted Guillaume's anxious stare, and bent his head to hide a smile. Guillaume was definitely sweet on Emily. And not doing a great job of disguising it.

"I'm not trying to hurt her, Guillaume," Dr. Delacroix replied in French. "I just needed to make sure that she didn't dislocate the joint."

The doctor patted Emily on the leg, and began speaking in English. "You have a nasty contusion, but I'm pretty sure nothing is broken. Let's get that x-ray, and then I'll give you a sling to wear for a few days so you don't jostle it around too much."

He stood. "You can meet me in infirmary. I'll get Father Xavier. Guillaume doesn't appear to want to leave," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Frank nudged Nancy as the young monk knelt beside Emily, his face filled with concern.

"Let the de-frocking begin," Nancy whispered with a smile.

OOOoooOOO

"There you are," Kathy called as Joe reappeared in the living room. "Where did you go?"

"Nowhere." He looked around the living room. "Did you get your new wardrobe put away?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a new wardrobe, Joe. Not even close."

He laughed. "Well, if that wasn't close, I'm glad I'm not paying your bills. It scares me to imagine how much that would cost."

Joe noticed the flash of hurt in Kathy's eyes and instantly regretted his comment. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that."

Kathy shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You don't have to pay the bills, so don't worry about it."

She flopped down into a chair sideways, her legs dangling over the arm. "I'm just glad I'm not going to be your wife. Clearly, she'll be going around in rags if you're as cheap as you sound."

Joe bit back a retort. Instead he sat on the couch.

"Are you hungry?"

Kathy picked at the throw pillow that had been resting on the chair and hugged it to her.

"Maybe. Are you asking me to dinner?"

"Sure." Joe smiled.

"Are you going to complain about how much my meal costs?"

"I'm not paying the bill, remember?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "I guess you're going to starve your wife, too."

Joe grinned.

Kathy stood up. "Okay, let's go."

"Bess, we're leaving," Joe called out.

"Have fun," she replied from her room.

Yeah, sure. Joe knew anything he did from this point on with Kathy wasn't going to be fun. He had to put an end to her little stalker charade.

But with what he'd learned from Simone, he also knew he'd have to approach the situation more delicately. Kathy's life seemed perfect from the outside, but from the inside it was a completely different story.

She truly was the poor little rich girl.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **Huge thanks go out to Caranath, max2013, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, ILoveMom, Jackie, bhar, flowerlover, Future Animator, Vinsmouse, Lady Emily, Burned Spy and Leya for your reviewing! I appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment! And of course, thanks to those reading!

Chapter 23

Nancy braced herself for the reaction when Bess opened the door to the hotel suite. She wasn't disappointed.

"Good grief, what happened? You all look like you just escaped the set of a horror movie!"

"It wasn't that bad," Nancy said as she stepped into the living room, brushing marble dust out of her hair.

"But it could have been." Frank limped through the door and groaned a little as he leaned against the wall for support.

"Explanation?" Bess raised an eyebrow at Nancy as Guillaume led Emily into the room with his arm around her waist for support. "Serious explanation."

"Whoever wants us off this case hasn't given up."

Nancy guided Frank over to the sofa where Lauren and Tammy made room for him, while Guillaume sat Emily on the adjacent couch, then stood, hovering, by her side.

"And?" Bess prompted.

"And whoever this jackass is, he tried to drop a marble statue of some beheaded saint on Nan and Emily," Frank said, as he rested his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes.

"What?" Bess's eyes grew wide. "Nancy, maybe it's time to call in the police."

"Not yet." Nancy's voice was firm. "We think we know why this is happening. We just need to find a few more pieces to the puzzle."

She did not want the police involved. They always got in her way. And she was positive they were not going to allow an American girl to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction. She'd be tossed off this case faster than she could tell them her name. Nancy was just happy that she managed to talk Father Xavier out of contacting them. The fear of the public discovering that the Madonna was missing had been enough to win him over to her side. For now.

"So are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to force it out of you?" Bess tapped her foot.

Nancy detailed the events of the afternoon while Bess, Lauren and Tammy listened with open mouths.

"Frank, you get a gold star for being so quick on your feet," Bess said when Nancy finished. "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if any part of that statue had landed on someone's head."

"I'm just glad I heard the noise and looked up. I only wish I could have been faster." Frank opened his eyes. "How's your shoulder, Em?"

"Not that great at the moment."

"I hear you." He glanced toward the bar. "Do we have any ice over there? That might help."

Nancy jumped up from her seat. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Here, let me get both of you a cold pack."

She hurried over to the bar and dumped the contents of the ice bucket into two dish towels resting on the counter. She chided herself for not putting Frank's injury ahead of her case. Some girlfriend she was.

Bess looked at Guillaume, then toward Frank. "Um, just curious. Why is he out 'amongst the English?'"

Frank grinned. "Emily needed some help getting over here."

"Can we keep him?" Lauren asked, tilting her head and pursing her lips into a half smile. "He's hot."

Nancy laughed as she returned from the bar with the two ice packs. "I believe you'll have to take that up with a higher authority."

She handed one to Guillaume, who held it against Emily's shoulder, and brought the other one to Frank. She reached for his belt again and Frank chuckled.

"Damn, woman, what do I have to do to keep you out of my pants?"

Tammy and Lauren giggled and Bess rolled her eyes.

"Frank, behave," Nancy scolded, unable to keep a smile from turning up the corners of her mouth. "You're sounding more like your brother every minute."

Frank groaned and whispered an expletive. "I forgot about Joe for a second. Where is he, by the way?"

"He and Kathy went out to dinner," Tammy answered. "Somewhere romantic, no doubt. I don't know when they'll be back."

Emily dropped her head at that announcement as Tammy continued, "We were going to have the kitchen send up pizza for us. You want some?"

OOOoooOOO

"Joe?" Kathy hissed at him across the table for two they were sharing in a dimly lit restaurant on the town square. "I think that's him."

"Who?"

"The guy that was watching us on the slopes the other day. I think that's him." She made a slight gesture with her head toward the bar.

Joe picked up his drink and took a sip as he turned his head. It was one of the federal agents. Joe pressed his lips together to hide a spontaneous smile as he lowered his drink and turned to Kathy.

"I think you may be right."

A look of panic came into her eyes. "What do we do?"

"We don't do anything."

"But Joe, what if he tries something?" Kathy twisted her hands around her linen napkin.

"He's not going to try anything in a crowded restaurant," Joe assured her. "Relax. You don't want him to think we've noticed him."

Kathy took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself before taking a sip of her soft drink. "Okay. I'm okay."

"Yes, you are." Joe smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Tears filled Kathy's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "You don't know how much it means to have somebody say that to me."

"It's all right," he said. "Why don't you finish your dinner?"

Kathy looked down at the lobster on her plate. "I can't. My stomach's in knots."

Joe nodded again. "Do you want to go back to the hotel?"

"Can we? I'm trying to be calm, but I'm just not as brave as you. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." He signaled to the waiter. "I'll take you to the suite, then I'll come back here and see what I can find out. In fact, why don't we leave something here, so I can use that as my excuse for returning. How about your scarf?"

Kathy nodded as the waiter appeared and Joe signed for the meal.

Standing, Joe helped her out of her chair and stole a glance at the agent seated at the bar, who tipped his glass slightly in acknowledgement.

Kathy grasped onto Joe's arm as they headed for the door of the restaurant and Joe felt her tremble.

Victory. She really did think someone was stalking her now.

OOOoooOOO

Frank pulled Nancy close to him while Lauren and Tammy were discussing what kind of pizza to order. "Joe is going to go ballistic when he finds out what happened today. We can't let that happen."

"You have a plan to rein in the infamous temper of Joe Hardy?"

Because Nancy was under no illusion about how difficult that could be, having been on the receiving end of Joe's wrath before. It was something she wanted to avoid again at all costs.

"We need to head him off," Frank continued. "Otherwise he'll blow our cover for sure. If he takes one look at Emily like this, no one is going to believe he's really Kathy's boyfriend."

"I agree," she said. "How do you propose we do that?"

"Let's go down to the lobby. Then we can catch them when they come back to the hotel."

"Frank, who knows how long they'll be gone?" Nancy protested. "And you're hurt."

"They have couches down there. I can sit and wait for him."

Nancy blew out a breath of air in frustration. Frank could be so stubborn. She knew his hip was killing him, and going all the way down to the lobby was something he should not be doing. She also knew by the determined glint in his eye that there was no arguing with him about it.

"Fine," she said. "I'll come up with some excuse for why we need to leave here. But only because I can't think of anything better at the moment."

OOOoooOOO

Twenty minutes later, Joe and Kathy walked into the lobby of the St. Sylvie hotel. Joe felt her stiffen as they moved through the crowd of people returning from the ski slopes and heading to and from nighttime engagements.

"It's okay," Joe whispered to her. "You're safe."

He turned his head as he heard his name being called and saw Nancy hurrying toward him. Joe stared at her. She seemed to have a fine coating of white dust in her hair and on her clothes. Her smile was also a little too bright. Something was wrong. He knew it.

"Um, hi guys," Nancy greeted them. "Did you have a nice dinner?"

"Yeah." Joe was wary.

"Great, uh, listen, Frank wants to talk to you about something, Joe." She glanced at Kathy. "In private."

"Okaaaay. Where is he?"

"Over there," Nancy gestured to the sofas surrounding the fireplace area of the lobby. She turned to Kathy. "I'll go upstairs with you."

"I don't want to go upstairs with you. I want to stay with Joe," Kathy protested.

"Yes, well, we can't always have what we want, can we?" Nancy took Kathy's arm and led her forcefully to the bank of elevators against the far wall, while Joe hurried over to his brother.

"What's wrong?" were the first words out of Joe's mouth.

Frank held up his hands. "Sit."

Joe sat next to his brother, and noticed how Frank winced as the movement jostled him.

His brother was hurt. What the hell had happened at the monastery?

"Spill it, Frank."

"First of all, Emily is all right. Her injuries are minor."

"Her what?" Joe jumped up from the sofa and his voice rose to a pitch loud enough to attract the attention of everyone around them.

Frank paused. "Joe, I need you to listen. Not freak out."

Joe sighed, "Okay, okay, I'm fine. But I won't be if you don't tell me exactly what's going on...right now."

As Frank explained the events of the afternoon, Joe began pacing back and forth, his fists clenched at his side. "I want to see her."

"Listen," Frank cautioned. "When you walk through those doors, you are not her boyfriend, understand? You can't blow our cover."

Joe stared at the floor. He didn't think he could do it. He thought he was barely successful at pretending he liked someone he couldn't stand. Now he was going to have to act as if he didn't care about someone who meant the world to him. He wasn't that good of an actor. And he knew it.

"Joe," Frank warned. "I mean it. If you can't promise me you can control your reaction, I will call upstairs and Nancy will take Emily out of that suite to another room."

"No." Joe was emphatic. "I don't want her moved. Someone's after her."

"Okay. Then we have a deal?" Frank asked. "You don't treat her any differently than you would if say, Bess, were injured. Got it?"

"I got it." He stared at his hands. "This really sucks, Frank."

Frank rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know."

OOOoooOOO

Emily undid a button of her cashmere cardigan and slid it off her shoulder so that Guillaume could cover more of the bruise that she knew must look awful…because it sure felt awful.

She was just grateful for Frank's quick reflexes at the moment. If St. Denis's head had landed on hers, they both would have ended up decapitated. She smiled at little at the irony and almost mentioned it out loud. But after glancing around at the teenagers in the room, she knew the geeky art history humor would be lost on them.

She sighed as Guillaume, who sat on the other side of her, wrapped his arm around her back, and adjusted the ice-filled towel against her skin.

Tammy shuddered. "I can't even imagine how much that hurts."

"I've felt better," Emily said, in an attempt to lighten the mood in the room.

It hadn't worked, judging by Kathy, who looked sullen as she sat in the wing chair, her arms crossed in front of her. Simone was making Emily a cup of tea at the bar, and Louis was standing next to Tammy, clucking sympathetically.

Emily felt like a spectacle.

Nancy appeared from her room, where she'd changed her clothes and also managed to get most of the marble dust out of her hair, although Emily still thought it had a white tinge to it. Great, that meant her own hair looked even worse.

"And you say nobody saw anything?" Louis asked.

You know what, Louis? I don't know for sure," Nancy said. "We never asked Guillaume if he saw anyone."

Guillaume looked up as Emily repeated Nancy's question in French.

"Did he see someone?" Nancy asked.

"He said he saw another monk walking up there, but he was wearing his hood, so he couldn't see his face," Emily replied.

"Is that normal? The hood thing?"

Emily addressed Guillaume and he nodded.

"I guess some of the brethren do wear the hoods from time to time. It helps them feel more removed from the world," Emily explained.

Nancy sighed. "Did he notice anything else about his appearance? How tall he was? How he walked? Anything that could be a clue?"

Emily repeated Nancy's questions again, and Guillaume shook his head.

Nancy blew out a sigh of frustration that lifted her bangs from her forehead.

"Well, that's not really going to help us, is it?"

OOOoooOOO

Joe approached the main door of the suite with Frank and paused. He took a deep breath, and willed himself to remain calm.

"You can do it, Joe," Frank said.

Joe nodded, but he wasn't that sure of himself. He felt very tense and he knew it was going to show.

Frank unlocked the door and gestured for Joe to go in first.

He managed to stay composed as he walked through the room and took a seat on the sofa across from Emily. Kathy leapt up from the wing chair and moved next to him, linking her arm through his as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Joe ignored her.

"So, I hear you ran into some trouble at the monastery?" he said to Emily.

"It was nothing," she said in a soft voice. "I'm fine."

The hell she was. She was pale and trembling, and he could see the pain in her eyes that she was trying so desperately to hide.

Joe nodded stiffly as he continued to observe the scene in front of him. Simone walked over and handed Emily a cup of tea.

"Drink this. It will make you feel better. Warm you up." She laid the back of her hand against Emily's cheek. "You're so cold, dear. I'll bring you a blanket."

Emily rested the cup and saucer on her lap. Joe noticed she couldn't lift the cup with her right hand...her arm was in a sling. But before she could pick it up with her left one, Guillaume took it and held it to her lips while she sipped the tea. She smiled her thanks at him and his face lit up beatifically. He brushed a strand of Emily's long hair over her shoulder and readjusted the icepack.

Joe had never contemplated striking a man of the cloth before, but right now he thought nothing would give him more pleasure than to knock this one right on his ass.

Emily gave a little shiver, and Tammy leaned over her. "Maybe this icepack is making things worse."

She gestured for Guillaume to remove it and she examined Emily's bruise again. "Geez, it looks even nastier than before!"

"Thanks," Emily said dryly.

Joe untangled himself from Kathy and walked over to his girlfriend. He sucked in his breath as he surveyed the red and purple area covering her shoulder and spreading over part of her back. He paused, trying to keep his voice steady and even.

"Have you seen a doctor?"

Emily nodded. "The one from the monastery. He took x-rays. Nothing is broken or dislocated."

Joe took another deep breath as he returned to the other couch, where Kathy immediately draped herself over him.

Guillaume tugged Emily's sweater down a bit and moved the icepack to cover the newly exposed skin.

Joe almost flew off the couch and grabbed him by the throat. What the hell did he think he was doing? She was half naked already.

He studied Guillaume's face and followed his line of vision. Was he staring at her breasts? The man's gaze seemed fixed on Emily's cleavage, which had been exposed a bit, thanks to her unbuttoned sweater. _Monk, my ass. He's nothing but a pervert. _

Joe's jaw clenched. He heard Frank clear his throat from somewhere across the room and ignored the warning. Joe continued boring his eyes into Guillaume. If "Monk Boy" didn't look somewhere else in the next two seconds, he was beating the crap out of him.

Emily shifted on the couch, breaking Guillaume's concentration. And his stare.

Simone stepped back into the room with a blanket, but Emily brushed it aside. "I think maybe it would be better if I just went to my room now," she announced. "I need to lie down."

"Here," Bess said, heading toward her. "You need to take these pain pills. They'll knock you out, but in this case, I think that's a good thing."

Emily nodded. "Me, too."

Joe closed his eyes for a moment. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He wanted nothing more than to lift her off the couch, and help her to bed. He should be the one taking care of her. She needed to be loved and held and kissed and comforted. She needed him. And he needed her.

Kathy's whining voice penetrated the haze he found himself in.

"Aren't you going back to the restaurant?"

"What?" Joe asked, in an annoyed tone.

"The restaurant? The guy who was spying on us? You said you'd go back and investigate." Kathy pouted.

Joe watched as Bess and Guillaume helped Emily to her feet. He flinched as he heard her gasp in pain.

Guillaume steadied her by slipping his arm around her waist. Joe stood up from the couch.

"Yeah. I'm leaving. Right now, as a matter of fact."

He couldn't watch for one more second.

It was killing him.

He grabbed his coat and headed for the door to the suite without a backward glance.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **Thank you so much, Caranath, max2013, Lady Emily, zenfrodo, BurnedSpy, catlover1033, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, bhar, Jackie, Vinsmouse, Future Animator, Guest, Guest, and Leya for your reviews! You're the best!The same goes for those reading!

Chapter 24

"Joe, wait," Frank called out. He eased himself into the hallway and down to the private elevator that served the penthouse floor.

Joe sighed and turned around. "What?"

"You know what." Frank limped toward him.

"You should probably swallow a handful of those pills, too," Joe said. "You look like hell."

"Thanks." Frank put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know how hard that was."

Joe shook his head. "I can't take much more of this, Frank. Kathy is driving me nuts. I'm trying to be understanding. Clearly the girl has enough issues to keep her flat on a psychiatrist's couch for the next twenty years. But I've about had it."

He began pacing back and forth.

"Now, in addition to fighting Kathy off constantly, I need to be worried that every time Emily leaves this hotel, she'll end up hurt...or worse."

He turned back to Frank.

"And what the hell is up with 'Friar Tuck' in there? He was all over my girlfriend! What kind of religious order allows you to openly leer at a woman's breasts? He's lucky he's still conscious." Joe jabbed Frank in the chest with his finger. "In fact, I want you to go back in there right now and throw him out the door on his ass. Or I will."

Frank grabbed Joe's hand. "I'm sorry about that. It seems as though Guillaume has a bit of a…crush…on Emily."

"Well, isn't that just the cherry on the sundae?" Joe snorted, throwing his hands in the air. "I can't believe how messed up everything is. We have two cases that are floundering. Some idiot is trying to kill our girlfriends. And we can't do anything about that until we solve the first case we're being paid to work on. Also, I'm getting damn sick and tired of pretending to be in love with someone I can hardly stand to be in the same room with." Joe looked at Frank. "Do I really need to keep up this charade?"

"I think you do," Frank said. "Those were the conditions we were hired under. You play her boyfriend. The easiest way to keep an eye on her."

"Yeah, but why can't her friends and Simone know that I'm not? What difference does it make, really?"

"Kathy isn't doing this alone, Joe. You and I both know that. So for now, I think this is one game we have to keep playing. Until we find out who's doing all her dirty work for her."

"Fine," Joe said angrily. "I'm headed back to that restaurant to pretend to solve this case some more."

"Want some help?"

"No. You need to rest. Go get some sleep," Joe ordered, stepping into the elevator car.

"Yes, sir." Frank grinned. "Be careful. Emily will want you back in one piece."

Joe waved his hand dismissively as the elevator doors closed.

OOOoooOOO

Joe burst through the door of the restaurant he and Kathy had dined in earlier and scanned the crowd at the bar. The federal agent assigned to Kathy waved him over. Joe took the barstool next to him.

"She saw me, huh?" the agent asked, handing Joe the scarf Kathy had left behind earlier.

"Yeah," Joe replied.

"Good."

The agent motioned for the bartender who came over and stood in front of them.

"What can I get you, monsieur?" he asked Joe.

"I'll have a beer." He sighed deeply as the bartender nodded and stepped away. "I can definitely use one."

The agent grinned. "Yeah, I don't envy you one bit. Nobody in the bureau wants to get assigned to 'Kathy Martin detail.'"

"Well, hopefully we can wrap this mess up soon."

Joe smiled his thanks as the bartender handed him a full glass of the amber fluid.

"You think seeing me threw her off?" the agent asked, popping a handful of pretzels in his mouth.

"Definitely. I think she was even a little scared. Like someone might really be after her." Joe took a sip of his drink. "At the very least she'll think my brother and I are on the wrong trail."

"That'll make her careless."

"If we're lucky." Joe took a larger swallow of beer. "We just need to find some proof she's involved in this."

The agent nodded. "Wish I could help you with that."

"Me, too." Joe shook his head. "I can't handle much more of her. I'm going to have Frank work on it tomorrow while I take her skiing or something."

"Yeah, I'd appreciate it if you could wrap this up, too," the agent said with a grin. "I'd like to get some serious skiing in myself before I head home."

"I'll do my best," Joe said dryly, as he finished off his beer.

OOOoooOOO

Frank awoke from his drug induced sleep the next morning feeling very foggy. He lay there for a moment with his eyes closed, trying to recollect the events of the previous twenty-four hours. Oh, yeah, the marble statue. That would explain the searing pain in his hip and thigh, as well as the agonizing stiffness. He tried to move and grimaced.

He felt a weight lying across his stomach. Hmmm, what's this? Did the ice bag slip? He reached out with his hand to touch it. It was an arm. He slid his hand up further. And it was attached to a woman. He moved his hand a bit more. A woman in a tiny pair of panties and a tight tank top.

Frank's eyes flew open and he saw Nancy cuddled into him. He wondered exactly what had happened. Because he couldn't remember much of anything after he'd swallowed those pain pills. He grinned. Hopefully she'd taken advantage of him.

He reached over and brushed her hair back from her face. She sighed in her sleep, and her hand dropped to his hip. Frank sucked in his breath with pain as she grazed his bruise. Nancy stirred at the sound.

"Wh-what's the matter, honey?" she whispered.

"Nothing," Frank replied, moving her hand upwards. "I'm just a little sore this morning."

Nancy sat up and the sheet slipped, leaving her cleavage exposed. She bent forward to examine his injury, while Frank tugged the sheet up around her. "Don't tempt me, baby. I can't even move without wanting to scream."

"Who says you have to move?" Nancy gave him a seductive smile as she examined his hip and thigh.

Frank groaned. "Drew..."

Nancy ran her fingers lightly over the bruised area. "This is awful, Frank. Do you think you'll be able to walk?"

"I'll be happy if I can stand," he muttered. "Hey, how did you get in here anyway? And where's Joe?"

"Emily cried out in her sleep last night, and Joe heard it. He insisted on staying with her."

"He what?" Frank struggled to sit and collapsed back down to the bed. "Is he crazy? What if Kathy sees him? I think she's already suspicious."

"Frank, I couldn't have pulled him away from her if I'd wanted to."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Okay, well, let's get up and going, before we're caught, too."

"Doesn't matter if we get caught," Nancy teased. "They already know we're a couple."

"Behave," Frank warned with a grin. "And help me up. There's no way I can do this on my own."

"Maybe you should stay in bed."

"If I do, the muscles will only get more stiff and sore and I won't be able to move for a week."

Nancy sighed. "Fine, but I think I'm right on this one."

She pulled on the robe she'd left puddled on the floor the night before, and walked around to Frank's side of the bed. "Can you sit?"

"I think so," he said with a wince.

She helped him to a sitting position. Frank paused and took a deep breath. "Geez, this almost feels as bad as getting shot."

Nancy's brow furrowed. "Honey, I want the doctor to look at you again. Maybe he'll come over here if I call."

"Nan, he already looked at me. He said it would, to use his exact words, 'hurt like hell' for a few days."

She draped her arm over his shoulders, and with her hand around his waist, helped him up. Frank grimaced and tried to walk a few steps with her supporting him.

"Let's try to make it to the couch," he said. "Then you go get Joe out of your room."

Nancy opened Frank's bedroom door and the two of them stepped into the living room.

"Hi," Kathy greeted them from behind the bar. "Is Joe awake?"

Frank froze as he saw Kathy standing at the bar making a cup of tea. Shit.

"Um, yeah," Frank answered quickly. "He went to help Emily out of her room."

"Help Emily?" Kathy frowned as she dunked her tea bag rapidly up and down in her cup. "Why?"

"She's in pain." Nancy walked Frank over to the couch and helped him sit.

Kathy gave Nancy a look. "I didn't think anything was wrong with her legs. Can't she walk out here by herself?"

Nancy shook her head. "Geez, Kathy, can't you work up a little sympathy? She was seriously injured yesterday."

Kathy shrugged as she reached for the sugar bowl. Nancy headed for her own bedroom as she exchanged glances with Frank. He rolled his eyes in response.

OOO

Joe exited Emily's bedroom with her cradled in his arms. He looked up as Nancy hurried toward him. She touched him on the hand.

"Kathy's already out there," Nancy whispered. "Frank told her you came in here to help Emily."

Joe nodded as he proceeded down the hallway and into the living room. He placed Emily on the opposite end of the couch from Frank and stood as Lauren and Tammy entered the room. Lauren gave a wolf whistle as she surveyed Joe, clad only in his sweat pants. Kathy skipped over toward him.

"Isn't he handsome?" she cooed as she ran her hands over his bare chest. "And he's all mine, girls, so don't get any ideas."

Kathy's gaze dropped to Emily, who was staring at the floor.

It was all Joe could do not to shove Kathy across the room. He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath while he reminded himself that he was a professional….and he had to maintain his cover.

"No crime to look, is it?" Lauren strolled over to the bar to turn on the coffee maker. "Hey, Bess, shall we go see if Lars and the Italian Stallions are back from that ski competition thingy yet?"

Bess gave her a dimpled smile as she entered the room.

"I would love nothing more. Nancy and I are going to get some breakfast downstairs and then bring some back for the invalids." She gestured toward Frank and Emily. "But after that, I'm free."

Lauren turned to Kathy. "What are your plans for the day?"

Kathy slipped both her arms around Joe's waist. "Oh, whatever my wonderful boyfriend has planned. Right, honey?"

"Yeah," Joe said, not able to completely keep the note of irritation out of his voice. "Listen, I need to talk to Frank about the case, so why don't you go get dressed or something?"

Kathy leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Perfect. Then we can go out to breakfast together." She bounced out of the room with Lauren and Tammy following behind.

"Good grief, how do you stand it?" Nancy whispered.

Before he could reply, Bess skipped toward Joe in a perfect imitation of Kathy. She linked her arm through his and looked up adoringly.

"Oh, my little snuggle bunny, I'm just going to miss you ever so much while I get dressed. Promise me you won't go anywhere. Or kill yourself to get away from me."

Frank and Nancy started to laugh, and even Emily smiled.

Joe untangled himself from Bess.

"I will get all of you back for this someday. You know that, don't you?"

Bess waved her hand as she walked away. "Yeah, yeah. I'm getting in the shower. See you all later."

Joe turned his attention back to his brother. "How's your leg?"

"Hurts like hell," Frank said. "Thanks for asking." He smiled at Emily. "How about your shoulder?"

"Feels the same as your leg," she replied. She looked toward Nancy. "I'm so sorry. I don't think I'll be much help to you today."

"Don't worry about it. I just want you two to get better." She glanced in Joe's direction. "Looks like you and I will be partners for now."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "I want both of these cases wrapped up as soon as possible."

He checked to make sure they were still alone in the room. "But there is something Emily and Frank can do."

Joe dashed into his room to retrieve his notebook out of his locked suitcase. He quietly explained what he'd seen happen with Simone the other day in the town square.

"Now, because the novel was in French, I have no idea what any of this means."

He handed the notebook to Emily.

"Do you think you could translate it?"

"Of course."

"And then, maybe you and Frank could try and figure out what it all means," Joe continued.

"Do you think Simone is involved in this stalking thing?" Frank asked.

"No idea," Joe said honestly. "I just know that she seemed very nervous in the town square. And this book thing is weird."

"Agreed," Frank said. "We'll definitely check it out. What will you be doing?"

Joe sighed. "Trying to keep the princess off my back."

"Don't you mean out of your pants?" Nancy grinned.

"She's awfully aggressive, isn't she?" Emily observed.

Joe reached down and squeezed her hand. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I know," she whispered. "But it doesn't mean I want to watch."

As if on cue, Kathy burst out of her bedroom. "Ready for breakfast, honey?"

"Almost." Joe dodged her and headed for his bedroom. "I'll be out in a minute."

OOO

Kathy deposited herself in the arm chair across from Frank and Emily.

"So," she began, looking at Emily. "What are you still doing here? If you're injured, you can't really help on Nancy's case, can you?" She made air-quotes around the word, 'case.'

"Like I told you before, I'm a researcher. I don't use my shoulder to translate Latin and French."

This chick was working Emily's last nerve. She couldn't wait until Joe was finally finished with her. Because Emily wanted to be the one to tell her who Joe's real girlfriend was. Maybe she'd just show her. With a nice big, juicy, kiss planted right on Joe's mouth. Yep, revenge was going to be sweet.

"How'd you meet Nancy?"

Emily was jarred out of her little fantasy.

"Um, through Frank. I went to Bayport University."

Kathy's eyes narrowed. "Fascinating."

Joe stepped back into the room. "Okay, I'm ready." He looked at Kathy. "I'll take you to breakfast, and then I need to do some work on your case."

"Meaning?" Kathy stood and walked over to Joe, positioning herself so that Emily was no longer in his line of vision.

"Meaning that you might have to hang out in the suite for a while," Joe finished.

"That's boring." Kathy pouted. "Can't we go skiing instead?"

"Not if I can't be there with you."

Kathy slid her arms around Joe's waist and snuggled into him. "Oh, that's so cute that you're so protective of me. You are the sweetest boyfriend ever."

Nancy rolled her eyes at Kathy then said to Joe, "Listen, I want to go over to the monastery. We obviously hit a nerve there and I want to poke around a little more. Do you want to meet me there after you eat?"

"Yeah, sure," Joe readily agreed.

"Um, hang on a minute," Frank interrupted. "I don't think I want you over there by yourself."

She glared at Frank. "Okay, fine. I'll go to breakfast with Bess, then wait here for Joe.

"That would be acceptable," Frank agreed.

"You know you're only getting away with this because you're injured," Nancy said as she turned to go to her bedroom.

Frank smirked. "Whatever works."

OOO

Kathy gave Joe one last squeeze then said, "I forgot something in my room. I'll be right back, okay?"

Joe nodded and watched as she disappeared into her bedroom. He knelt down in front of the couch.

"Listen, Frank," he whispered. "I also need you to search for the proof we need for our own case while Kathy and I are gone. Can you do that?"

"I'll try, but it might be slow going with this leg. Can you take your time at breakfast?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "That's the last thing I want to do, but yes. Just promise me you'll find something."

"Don't worry. We'll get this taken care of," Frank said.

Joe watched Emily shift against the couch and stiffen from the pain in her shoulder. He rested his hand on her leg.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and gave him a tiny smile. "Frank and I had pain pills for breakfast. We'll be feeling much better in about thirty minutes."

"Or else we'll be so high, we won't care," Frank said with a grin.

"Just find the evidence we need," Joe reminded him. "High or not."

"Will do," Frank assured him.

"Thanks." Joe patted Emily's leg and blew her a quick kiss before Kathy came bounding into the room.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **As always, thank you for the reviews, BurnedSpy, Caranath, max2013, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Future Animator, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse and catlover1033! Thanks to anyone reading as well!

Chapter 25

After Nancy and Bess left with the Tammy and Lauren for breakfast and Simone and Louis went their separate ways for the day, Frank eased himself off the couch.

"I need to go search the girls' room before Joe gets back," he said to Emily.

Because he wanted to get this stalking nonsense wrapped up as soon as possible. Nancy's case had gotten much too dangerous, and he didn't like it one bit.

Emily frowned at him from her position at the other end of the sofa. "How can you do that when you can barely walk?"

"I'll manage." He grimaced as he straightened to his full height. "Hey, will you shout out if you hear them coming?"

"Of course," she assured him. "Will you be able to get out of the room in time?"

"If it kills me." Frank laughed. "And it just might."

"Okay, well, I'll just keep myself busy translating this French." Emily waved the notepad Joe had given her in the air.

"Sounds like a plan."

Frank took a deep breath before he headed off to the girls' bedroom. It was less than six feet from the couch, but it might as well have been ten miles with the way his thigh felt.

He glanced down at Emily whose brow was furrowed as she examined Joe's messy scrawl.

"Have fun trying to decipher that chicken scratch," Frank said as he shuffled off toward the bedroom.

"No kidding," Emily called out after him.

Frank limped into the bedroom Kathy was sharing with her girlfriends and looked around. Clothes were strewn everywhere, along with jewelry, hair accessories and make-up. He promised never to criticize Joe again for not picking up after himself. If he wasn't in Switzerland, he would have sworn a tornado had gone through the room.

He made his way to Kathy's bed and picked through the clothing that was scattered around, as well as the personal belongings she had on the night table and the dresser.

Finding nothing, he bent down, ignoring the searing pain in his leg, and checked under the bed as well as under the mattress. Nothing. He pushed himself to a standing position and sighed.

Moving over to the closet, he began examining the pockets of the clothes hanging there.

Spotting Kathy's evening bag from the previous night, he rifled through the contents, finding nothing more than two lipsticks, some mints, a couple of Swiss francs, and a ticket stub for the ball. He scratched his head and looked toward the dresser. Maybe she'd taped the notes under the drawers or behind the mirror.

As he headed in that direction, he peeked into the living room and called to Emily.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah." She looked up from the notebook page. "This isn't making much sense though."

"I'll come take a look at it in a minute," Frank said. "Don't forget to yell if you hear someone in the hall."

OOO

Emily nodded and returned to the page in front of her. She flipped back to read what she'd already translated. Usanne, four, seven, point, one, five, nine, eight, four, zero, seven, point, one, six, three, zero, eight, six, Engenbern, must snowshoe, Pére Jean-Claude, use key that isn't a key.

She sighed as she came to the end of Joe's notes and saw Frank returning to the living room.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"No, and the theory we thought we had, may be shot to you know where if we can't prove it." Frank lowered himself gingerly to the sofa.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'd like nothing more than for you guys to wrap up this case."

He grinned. "Had enough of Kathy already?"

"I swear, Frank, if she keeps mauling Joe the way she has been, I'm going to pop her right in the mouth."

He threw his head back and laughed. "I'd pay money to see you do that, you know."

"If she keeps it up, you can watch for free."

"If she keeps it up, I'll hold her down for you," Frank said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Emily smiled at him. "Deal."

He gestured for her to hand him the notepad. "What did the translation say?"

"I have no idea," she replied, stretching her arm with the tablet toward him and wincing at the burning pain she felt in her shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "That investigating in the girls' room did me in. I couldn't move forward any more than I did."

Emily giggled. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"

"Yeah," he snorted. "A pair of geriatrics."

He frowned as he read what Emily had translated. "The numbers...does that sound like an address?"

"Not with the 'point' in between them. Unless they do addresses differently here."

"Could it be a punctuation mark, maybe? Like a period?"

"Maybe, but it still doesn't make sense."

"Can you toss me your pen? I want to see if these numbers might make more sense in a different combination."

"How about phone numbers?" Emily asked. "They're organized differently here."

Before Frank could reply, a key sounded in the lock. He quickly flipped the pages of the notepad over to cover the translation as the door opened and Joe and Kathy stepped inside, followed by Lauren and Tammy.

Peachy, Emily thought. Now I get to watch her try and make out with my boyfriend right in front of me some more.

OOO

"Why do you have to go to the monastery?" Kathy whined. "It has nothing to do with my case."

"And you would know that...how?" Joe asked.

Joe shook his head in disgust. Could Kathy be more self-centered? Every damn thing in the world had to have something to do with her, or it wasn't important. No wonder her father couldn't stand her. He'd created a monster.

"A monk is stalking me, Joe? Really?" Kathy crossed her arms in front of her and rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Kathy," Joe began in a voice that sounded much more patient than he felt. "I'm going there to help Nancy, but I think getting away from here will help me with your case, too."

"How?"

"By giving me a change of scenery and some peace and quiet." He looked at her pointedly.

Frank and Emily chuckled in the background and Joe tried hard to keep a straight face.

"Oh, honey, you know you didn't mean that the way it sounded." Kathy threw her arms around Joe's waist almost knocking him off balance.

"No, Kathy, I didn't mean that as an insult. I just need to have some time where I can work. Not shop. Not ski. Not go to restaurants. Work."

Kathy tightened her grip on him, forcing Joe to put his arms around her to stay upright. He was getting damn tired of being attacked.

She leaned in and nuzzled his neck.

"Okay, sweetheart. I know how anxious you are to get rid of the guy who's been hurting me." She toyed with the hair at the back of his neck. "But promise you won't stay away too long."

Joe sighed in resignation as Kathy continued to caress him. "I promise."

OOO

Frank looked at Emily and caught the flash of annoyance in her eyes. He reached in his pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill and tossed it to her. Emily glanced up, surprised, and then began to laugh quietly.

"I'll hold her," Frank mouthed, then winked.

Emily gave him a broad smile. "Thanks."

OOO

Joe stepped over to the sofa where Frank and Emily were seated while Kathy dashed into her bedroom with her girlfriends to change.

"Find anything?" Joe asked his brother.

He was hoping against hope that the 'stalker' letters were still in Kathy's evening bag.

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. Are you sure you just didn't imagine it?"

"I read the notes Frank," he insisted. "No question about it."

"Okay, then we have to look harder. Maybe they're not in her room. I'll try and search the rest of the suite."

"How about that translation?" Joe asked, turning to Emily.

She handed him the notebook. "I did it, but I can't make much sense out of it. Maybe you'll have better luck."

"I'll take it with me to the monastery. I can look it over in private there."

Joe sat on the couch between her and Frank, and as he took the notepad his movement caused them both to gasp.

He looked from his girlfriend to his brother, and noted the pain on their faces.

"Are you two sure you're all right? Maybe you need to see the doctor again."

"Joe, he already told us it would hurt like hell for a few days," Frank explained. "He didn't lie."

Joe's brow furrowed as he leaned toward Emily. "Let me see."

He tugged the hem of her shirt out of her jeans and lifted it to examine her back and shoulder. The bruise was an ugly, mottled, deep purple and red and he winced at the sight.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I wish I could make it better."

Emily smiled at him. "I'm sure it looks worse than it is. I'll be fine, I promise."

"When I find the guy who did this..." Joe's eyes narrowed and he left his threat unspoken.

"I'll get some more pain medication and take a nap," Emily said, patting his knee. "Don't worry about me, okay? Just work on the case."

The door to the suite opened again and Joe turned, seeing not only Nancy and Bess enter, but Kathy, standing at the door of her bedroom, her arms crossed and an icy expression in her eyes as she stared at Emily.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, as she watched Joe lower Emily's shirt.

Nancy, Bess, Tammy and Lauren went silent at the tone of Kathy's voice.

Joe stood and looked her straight in the eyes. "Checking on Frank and Emily's injuries. I think they should probably have the doctor examine them again."

He stared at Emily, whose eyes were wide. "I'm going to send Dr. Delacroix back here when I get to the monastery." He glanced at his brother. "And I don't want to hear any protests from either of you, got it?"

Frank sighed and rolled his eyes. "You'll be wasting the man's time, Joe."

"I don't care." Joe pointed his finger at his brother. "I'm getting my way on this one."

"Fine," Frank agreed. "But if he says we'll live, will you drop it?"

"Yes," Joe conceded.

Nancy moved over to the couch and brushed an errant strand of Frank's hair off his forehead. "Are you going to be okay if I go to the monastery?"

He sighed. "Yes, but I really wish you'd reconsider and stay put."

"No can do, honey. I have a case to solve." She bent down for a quick kiss. "But I promise I'll only stay as long as Joe does, okay?"

"Well, he's not going to be there that long," Kathy piped up. "I have plans for this afternoon."

"I already told you, no shopping." Joe's voice was firm. He was done play acting as her boyfriend all over town.

Kathy gave him a simpering smile. "My plans have nothing to do with shopping."

She sauntered toward him and linked her arm through his. "Just be sure you're back in time for lunch." Then she reached up and kissed his cheek. "I need to go do my nails. I'll miss you, sweetheart."

Joe glanced at Lauren and Tammy. He had to maintain his cover, in case they were all in on the stalking scheme. He turned to Kathy and said through gritted teeth, "Yeah, I'll miss you, too."

Bess made a gagging motion as she walked toward her own room.

"I'll stay and play nursemaid to our invalids for the rest of the morning. Then I think I'll do some shopping." She called to Tammy and Lauren over her shoulder. "Would you girls like to come?"

"Definitely." Lauren smiled. "Then let's see if we can run into the Italian guys again. They are so hot."

Joe chuckled and looked at Nancy. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, let me get my bag."

Frank turned to Emily. "How about a game of Hangman?"

"Or Hangwoman," Emily hissed, looking at Kathy's back as she walked into her bedroom.

OOOoooOOO

Joe sat in the monastery library with Nancy lost in his own thoughts.

She was poring over the newspaper articles that Guillaume had gathered and saved for her after the falling statue incident, while Joe was trying to make sense of the translation Emily had written in his notebook.

Finally he sighed heavily and shoved his notebook away from him. "You want to trade for a while?"

Nancy sat back and rubbed her tired eyes, heedless of the mascara she'd smudged beneath them.

"Yeah, that actually might be a good idea. I have so many facts swimming around in my head right now, I can't sort anything out."

Joe reached for one of the newspaper articles she'd been reading.

"So this talks about the place where the statue and monstrance were originally kept?"

"Yeah, it was a cathedral built in a small town on what's now the border between France and Switzerland. A powerful place back in the thirteen hundreds or so, but it's dwindled into a small village since then."

She picked up another article with a photo and handed it to Joe.

"Some local townspeople funded by a radical church group have been stirring things up saying that the town's decline occurred after the cathedral burned down and the statue and monstrance were taken away."

Joe took the newspaper from her and glanced at the black and white photo of villagers dressed in traditional costume and dancing at a town festival.

"Now tell me again why the cathedral wasn't rebuilt there."

"Money, politics, religion, you name it. The three were all intertwined at that time in history. I guess because it was during the Western Schism, the Roman pope insisted the new cathedral be built here in St. Sylvie. He didn't want any of the church's money going to build a cathedral in France, because that was under the control of the Pope in Avignon."

She pointed to a paragraph in the article. "The town in France now feels that they were cheated out of all the revenue that would have been theirs over the last six hundred years if the statue and the monstrance had remained. They want them both back."

"So the people behind this...are they motivated by religion or money?"

"Again, it seems to be a mix." Nancy sighed. "The businesses in the town are obviously interested in the tourism dollar, but the group being the most vocal seems to be doing it for religious reasons."

"They really feel that the artifacts are rightly theirs, then?" Joe picked up another article and scanned a few paragraphs. "They seem to be doing this outside the wishes of the church."

Nancy nodded. "They're _Sedevacantists_ and feel that the current pope has no real power to lead the church anyway. That he's a false pope. So pretty much everything they do is done outside the wishes of the church."

"So they really are a radical group."

"Yes, and the Church sees no real reason to move the statue or the monstrance back to a town that's become as remote and out of the way as this one has. Plus, for the last six hundred years, St. Sylvie has been the place where the relics have been. Moving them would just confuse people."

"What's the name of this little town?"

"Um, Usanne, I think."

Joe dropped the newspaper and looked at Nancy. "What did you say?"

OOOoooOOO

Kathy felt a horrible uneasiness in the pit of her stomach she hadn't been able to shake. She swallowed hard as she recalled Joe examining Emily's injury. The look he'd had on his face really bothered her.

She paced back and forth in her bedroom. He seemed so worried about her. Like he really cared or something. Just who was she to Joe anyhow?

Her fists clenched at her sides as she recalled the guilty expression Emily wore when she knew Kathy had seen Joe touching her. Joe didn't act as if it were any big deal though. _Maybe Emily just has a crush on him and felt bad because she knows he's with me. _

A smile crept over Kathy's face. That was it. It had to be. She probably even asked Joe to check out the bruise just to try and tempt him.

Kathy paused in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.

She was just as pretty as Emily. She didn't have one thing Kathy didn't. _In fact, I'm even more attractive than she is. Besides being beautiful, I have money and power. Something I'll bet 'Miss Art History Expert of Bayport' has none of. _

She practiced a seductive look in the glass. Yep, she was right. There was not one reason for Joe to give Emily the time of day. She was better than Emily in every single way that mattered.

She stepped away from the mirror, her confidence restored. She had nothing to worry about.

Joe Hardy was hers.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy looked across the library table at Joe. "Did you ask what the name of the town was? It's Usanne. Why?"

"Nancy, that's one of the words Emily translated from Simone's book." He thrust his pad of paper at her. "See? It's the first word, actually."

Nancy read over the translation quickly. Why would Simone have the name of a little Swiss border town where the Madonna and monstrance originated? And why would it be part of some cloak and dagger message delivered by a mysterious stranger in a paperback book? And most important of all…why would this be happening in the same week both artifacts were stolen? Could Simone possibly be involved with the thefts?

She met Joe's gaze with her own.

"What exactly is going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Joe leaned back in his chair. "It could just be some strange coincidence."

"Do you really believe that?"

"No." Joe gestured toward his notes. "This whole book thing is too weird anyway. It's clearly some sort of secret message for Simone. I mean, who does that? Underlines random words and letters throughout a novel? It's a code."

Nancy nodded then paused for a minute as she stared around the library. The eerie stillness of the place made her shiver.

She reached for a pen and scribbled Joe a note_. I'm afraid these walls have ears. Let's go somewhere else._

He nodded, then stood and began gathering the newspapers.

"Guillaume said we could keep those," Nancy said as she picked up her tote bag. "They're copies."

"Good. I'd like to read them again."

"I want Frank to see them, too."

Nancy stepped into the hallway of the monastery followed by Joe.

"Should we have a meeting in the suite?"

"Won't you be attacked by the princess if you so much as set foot through the door?" Nancy couldn't keep the teasing smirk off her face.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's pretty much a given. How about if we get Frank to meet us in the lobby?"

Nancy frowned. "I don't know if he can do that with his leg."

"Call him and see what he says. Because I'm not up for another mauling right now."

OOOoooOOO

Kathy stepped to the door of her bedroom, feeling smug about Joe's affection for her, until she heard Emily's laughter. She stopped short and stared at the brunette who was giggling over something Bess had said to Frank.

Kathy thought she had truly never seen anyone that pretty before. And it wasn't just her undeniable physical beauty. There was something else Kathy couldn't put her finger on. But it was something she knew Emily had...and she didn't.

"Kathy? Hello?" Tammy's voice pierced through Kathy's thoughts from across the room, and she jumped.

"Um, what? Did you call me?"

"Yeah," Tammy said. "Hey, we were all going shopping for a little while. I know you can't come without Joe, but if you toss me my purse, I promise I'll pick up something cute for you."

Kathy turned and reached for Tammy's bag which was lying on the dresser.

As she began to walk through the doorway to bring it to her friend, her eyes settled on Emily again. She'd gotten to her feet and was headed toward the bar…presumably to refill the icepack in her hands.

Suddenly a flash of anger more intense than Kathy had ever felt in her life coursed through her. It was followed by a feeling of jealousy that was so strong, Kathy wasn't even completely aware of what happened next.

She threw Tammy's purse toward her, but enough off target that she knew exactly where it would land. She was aiming for Emily's injured shoulder.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **Thanks so much to BurnedSpy, Guest, pen4lew, Guest (Jackie?), zenfrodo, max2013, Stork Hardy, Caranath, catlover1033, Vinsmouse, bhar, Future Animator, ILoveMom and Leya for your reviews! They always make me smile. And of course, thanks to those reading!

Chapter 26

Frank saw Kathy standing in the doorway to her bedroom, the expression on her face one of intense anger. He watched her pull back her arm to throw her purse, and in that split second, he knew exactly what she was about to do.

"Em, move!" he shouted.

In spite of the excruciating pain in his thigh, he leapt forward hurling himself between Emily and Kathy's purse in the nick of time.

The bag smacked him in his back and Frank dropped to his knees, his leg buckling from the exertion.

Emily spun around. "Oh my word! Frank are you okay?"

Frank blew out a breath of air, trying to control the pain shooting through his thigh.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Just give me a minute."

"Bess, Tammy, come help me!" Emily called, as she knelt down next to him.

Frank didn't resist as the girls pulled him to his feet and dragged him to the sofa. He gritted his teeth against the pain as they helped him lie down.

Bess propped a pillow under his head, then announced, "I'm calling the doctor."

"I don't need a doctor," Frank protested.

"Then you can tell him that when he gets here," Bess said, and headed for the phone.

"Tammy, get him an ice pack," Emily ordered. "And Lauren, can you bring him a glass of water?"

"Wh-what can I do?" Kathy asked.

"You can get out of my sight," Emily said. "Before I say something I'm going to regret."

"I-I didn't mean to hit him," Kathy protested. "H-he jumped in front of my purse. I was just tossing it to Tammy."

_Like hell you were_, Frank thought. He debated on whether he should point out that he knew exactly who Kathy was aiming for. Unfortunately he was in too much pain to speak in complete sentences. Kathy's actions alarmed him, however. She obviously knew something was up with Emily.

They had to get proof she was the stalker. Today.

OOOoooOOO

Joe walked through the door of the hotel lobby behind Nancy who was headed over to the bank of phones along the wall.

"I'll call upstairs and talk to Frank," she said. "That way Kathy won't even have to know you're in the building."

"Sounds good." Joe looked toward the restaurant and the smell of homemade French onion soup tickled his nose. "How about we meet in there? I'm kind of hungry."

Nancy glanced at her watch. "It's barely eleven o'clock."

"Your point?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll tell him to meet us in the restaurant."

She picked up the receiver and phoned the suite as Joe grinned and headed off to reserve a table.

OOOoooOOO

Bess was scooping ice into a towel to place on Frank's thigh when the phone rang. She picked up the receiver and cradled it under her jaw as she folded the towel over the ice.

"This is Bess."

"Hey, it's me," Nancy's voice greeted her.

"Hi, where are you?"

"Downstairs. Joe and I were hoping Frank could meet us in the restaurant. We need some input on the case. We've discovered something really interesting."

"Umm…." Bess hesitated, wondering if she should tell Nancy what happened over the phone. Maybe she should just run down to the lobby and explain it in person.

"What's wrong?"

"Is Joe nearby?"

"No, he's getting a table. Do you need to talk to him?"

"Well…"

"Bess, spill it."

She gave a heavy sigh. "Kathy threw a purse to Tammy, but it looked like she was aiming it at Emily, and Frank jumped in front of it, and it hit him instead."

"What? Is he okay?"

Bess could hear the panic in Nancy's voice and she wanted to be reassuring. "He says he's fine, but we sent for Dr. Delacroix anyway. He told me that Joe had already spoken with him when you guys were at the monastery, and he should be here soon."

"I'm coming up."

The phone disconnected and Bess sighed. If Kathy knew what was good for her, she'd head for the hills now.

OOOoooOOO

"I'm going to kill her, Joe," Nancy said, pushing the elevator button repeatedly.

"Nance, you need to calm down. Frank's made of tough stuff. A purse hitting him isn't going to take him out." He smiled at her. "Otherwise Aunt Gertrude would have done him in years ago."

She didn't look amused. She pressed the "up" button again. Ten more times.

"What if she'd hit Emily with it? Would you be singing the same tune? Huh?"

Joe's lips tightened. No, he'd want to kill her.

"I didn't think so," Nancy said as they stepped into the elevator car and she pressed the button for the penthouse floor.

"Just please try and be careful, Nance. We still have a case to solve here," Joe reminded her.

"Actually, I don't give a damn about Kathy right now. I only want to make sure Frank is okay."

The elevator door opened and Nancy ran off down the hall to the suite.

Joe hoped against hope that she wouldn't lose it and get them all thrown out before he could prove Kathy was the stalker.

OOOoooOOO

"Honey, I told you I'm fine." Frank brushed away the cold washcloth Nancy had placed across his forehead.

"You have a grade two contusion that you just made worse by running and jumping. You're not fine."

Frank sighed. He was now lying in his bed, thanks to the doctor and Joe. The pain in his thigh was ebbing. Dr. Delacroix had drained the bruise, wrapped his leg, and given him a shot of painkillers. He was doing much better, but he wasn't sure he could convince Nancy of that. She was hovering.

"Seriously, babe. I feel much better than I did this morning. Draining the bruise helped a lot."

Nancy stepped back and pursed her lips. She looked doubtful. Frank reached out and took her hand.

"Honest. We're getting close to solving this case, and I need to get back to working on it."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think you should be working."

"Hmm, and if you were the one lying here and I told you that, what would you say to me?"

A tiny smile teased the corners of her mouth. "I'd say you were off your rocker, Frank Hardy, and I'm going back to work."

Frank arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. But if you start feeling nauseous or dizzy, you need to promise me you'll stop and rest."

"I promise." He pulled her closer. "I'm pretty sure that a kiss or two would make me feel a whole lot better."

"Just a kiss?"

"For now," Frank said. "But later tonight, when this pain reliever really kicks in, I'm going to want a whole lot more than that."

"Promise?"

For an answer, Frank sank his fingers in her hair and covered her lips with his. He moaned at his first taste of her, then sucked on her lower lip lightly, and slipped his tongue into her mouth. He was a goner.

Nancy kissed him back thoroughly as she stretched out on the bed next to him. Her hands roamed over his chest and she made a needy little sound in the back of her throat that sent him over the edge.

He cupped her face with his other hand and intensified the kiss, exploring her mouth, tasting deeper, trying to get enough to satisfy the ache that had nothing to do with the bruise on his thigh.

His hand slid over her collar bone, and down the front of her shirt, brushing it over her breast. Nancy gasped and arched into him.

"Hey, are you guys okay in there?" Joe's voice echoed on the other side of the door as the knob turned.

"I'm going to kill him," Frank muttered.

"Me, first," Nancy said, as she sat back and straightened her shirt.

"Oh, hey, sorry," Joe said as he entered the room.

Like hell he was. He had the same grin on his face as he did when he interrupted Frank's first kiss with Nancy in the hotel lobby in Los Angeles. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"What do you want, Joe?" Frank didn't even try to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"I want to wrap up this case." Joe closed the door behind him. "Did you find any evidence while we were at the monastery?"

"No." And that infuriated Frank. "Her room was clean."

"Her room?" Nancy asked. "Whose room were you searching? And why?"

"Kathy's her own stalker," Frank said. "Joe found some notes in her purse on the night of the ball."

"What?" Nancy stood. "Why that manipulative little–"

"Yeah, we know," Joe said. "I left the notes in her bag, on the off-chance that maybe someone else had put them there, and she just hadn't discovered them yet. But when she went through her purse, she ignored them."

"So you know she did it, but you have no evidence to prove it," Nancy said. "And without any evidence…"

"It's her word against ours," Frank finished. "And you know she'll just deny everything."

Nancy nodded. "Well, as much as I hate to suggest this, I think maybe Bess and I should take Kathy and her friends out of the suite and you and Joe should go over this place with a fine-tooth comb."

"Really, Nance?" Joe asked. "You'd do that?"

"You guys need to get this case finished. I need your help with mine." She sighed. "And if this is the only way…"

"She won't go for it, though," Joe warned.

"Then I'll just have to make her an offer she can't refuse." Nancy grinned.

Frank reached out and grabbed her hand. "Thanks, honey."

"You owe me," Nancy said, pointing her finger at him. "And I plan on collecting. Tonight."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, spare me the details. But thanks, Nance. Really."

"No worries. Just nail that little brat to the wall, please." She bent down and kissed Frank. "Don't overexert yourself, okay?"

"Promise," he said, kissing her again.

OOOoooOOO

After some arm twisting by Nancy, and Kathy's insistence that Emily accompany them even if she wasn't going to ski, the girls finally left the suite for a trip to the slopes.

Joe knew they didn't have much time to find evidence. If Kathy's whining was any indication, he didn't think they'd be gone very long. He entered the living room and found Frank searching the bar area.

"Anything?"

Frank shook his head. "No. I've checked out this room pretty thoroughly, too."

Joe gestured toward the girls' bedroom. "I'm just going to give it the onceover."

"Good idea."

Frank stood slowly, and Joe could see how much pain his brother was in, even though he was trying to be stoic.

"I could have easily missed something," Frank continued. "I'm not exactly as mobile as I'd like to be."

Joe walked to the front door and slipped the dangling chain into its lock. "I know it won't stop anyone from entering, but at least it'll give us a warning."

"Nan did say she'd try and call before they came back up, but with Kathy, you never know."

"You said it," Joe grumbled as he entered her bedroom.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy smiled as she reached the bottom of the ski run. The day was brilliantly sunny and the invigorating exercise had cleared her head. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. She wished again that she could be here on a pure pleasure trip. This place was beautiful.

"Told you it would do you some good," Bess called out. She snowplowed to a stop in front of her friend.

"You were right. I'm ready to take on the world."

"Or the girl who thinks she's the princess of it?"

Nancy rolled her eyes as she watched Kathy make her way down the last few feet of the run.

"Don't remind me. Frank owes me big for this." She nudged Bess. "Hey, I think she's flirting with your boyfriend."

"What?"

Bess stomped off to where Kathy was leaning heavily into Lars and Nancy laughed out loud as she headed toward the chair lift for another run.

OOOoooOOO

"Any luck?"

Joe glanced backwards and saw Frank leaning against the door frame to the teenagers' bedroom. He closed a nightstand drawer with a little more force than necessary. This search was frustrating him.

"No." He faced Frank. "Where the hell could she be hiding them?"

"Maybe she really doesn't have any notes or any other kind of evidence. Maybe we're way off track and she's not the stalker."

"I don't buy that. There's no evidence to indicate it could be anyone else but her. The feds haven't seen anyone around who even looks remotely suspicious." Joe brushed past his brother and stepped into the living room. "The evidence is here. I can feel it in my gut. Where haven't we looked?"

"The only other place would be Simone's and Louis's rooms."

"Then that's where we're headed." Joe strode purposefully toward the short hallway on the other side of the living room. "Oh, and speaking of Simone, Nancy and I have something we need to discuss with you when she comes back."

"Did you break the code?"

Joe turned and saw Frank following him, a slight limp slowing his pace.

"Maybe." Joe went to turn the handle on Simone's door when he noticed another door across from it. "What's in here?"

Frank shrugged. "Isn't that the coat closet?"

Joe turned the knob and surveyed its contents, then turned back to Frank and grinned.

"Jackpot."

OOOoooOOO

"That was such a blast!" Kathy's smiled as she followed her girlfriends into the locker room. "I just wish Joe were here. Hey, maybe I could run upstairs and talk him into going down a run or two with me."

"No," Nancy said firmly. "You're not going anywhere by yourself. And besides, Joe is working."

Kathy rolled her eyes and grabbed a towel and some shampoo out of her duffel bag. She'd had enough of Nancy's bossy attitude. Who did that girl think she was?

"Am I allowed to go into the shower by myself?"

"Why don't you just shower upstairs?" Tammy asked.

"More water pressure down here." Kathy slipped on her flip flops and headed across the tile floor of the locker room. "Besides, I don't want to go upstairs with scraggly wet hair and messy make up. I want to look beautiful for Joe."

OOO

"Good luck with that," Bess muttered, low enough for only Nancy and Emily to hear.

Kathy had been her usual obnoxious self all morning, and she actually had the gall to flirt with Lars. She was lucky Bess hadn't punched her in the mouth.

Nancy laughed as she reached for her towel. "I'll take a shower down here, too. I promised Joe I wouldn't let her out of my sight."

Lauren sighed. "Isn't that so romantic?"

"You have no idea," Bess said, with a perfectly straight face, ignoring the cough Emily wasn't able to suppress.

"I only hope that Joe can solve this quickly," Emily whispered. "Or I may have to push her off the chair lift."

"I'll help," said Bess.

OOOoooOOO

Joe stared into the hall closet. The luggage. This could be Kathy's hiding place. Who would think to look in luggage they'd already unpacked and stored away?

"What is it?" Frank asked.

"The girls' suitcases." Joe pulled one out and set it on the ground. "Don't you remember? When we checked in, Kathy had a tantrum saying they were taking up too much 'valuable closet space.' To shut her up, Louis moved them here."

"They aren't locked, are they?"

"Nope."

Joe opened Kathy's suitcase and searched through the main compartment and the zippered side pockets. It was empty. Disappointment washed over him.

"Damn. I thought we had something." He sat back on his heels. "I'm worried she's thrown all the evidence away, Frank. What if we can't find any proof that Kathy is behind all of this?"

Frank, who was still standing, took a step backwards and surveyed the bag carefully.

"Joe, something's not right. The inside of that case is too shallow for its outside dimensions. Is there a compartment on the other side?"

Joe flipped the suitcase over. "No."

He felt the bottom of the bag, then turned it again. Placing both hands inside, he slid his fingers along the edges and felt a piece of the lining give away.

With a triumphant smile, Joe pulled out the entire false bottom of the suitcase and peered into the compartment that lay underneath.

"Holy shit!"


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **A big thank you to BurnedSpy, max2013, Guest, zenfrodo, Caranath, centaurdy jackson007, Lady Emily, Jackie, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, bhar, Vinsmouse, and Leya for your reviews! They are very much appreciated. And thanks to anyone reading as well.

Chapter 27

Nancy was showering in the hotel locker room, rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, when Kathy called to her from the adjoining shower.

"I'm finished," she said. "I'll be back in the locker room with the other girls.

"Okay." Nancy closed her eyes as the hot water pulsed down over her. "I'll be right behind you. Stay close to Bess or Emily."

She could hear Kathy's sigh of annoyance echoing off the tile walls. Nancy smiled and continued rinsing her hair. Reluctantly, she stepped away from the spray, turned it off, and reached for her towel.

She'd barely gotten her hair wrapped and her terry cloth robe on, when she heard a high pitched scream coming from the locker area.

What on earth?

Nancy exited the shower room and came to an abrupt stop.

Kathy was lying on the floor in front of the metal lockers.

Unconscious.

OOOoooOOO

Joe bent over the suitcase and lifted out drafts of notes similar to ones they'd found earlier from the stalker. There were completed letters as well, and something that looked like a large photo album. Joe yanked off his pullover, placed it around the book and handed it to Frank. Then he turned back to the contents of Kathy's suitcase.

"Geez, she had this all planned out, didn't she?" Joe carefully tilted the luggage, so he didn't touch the actual notes, but moved them enough to enable him to read them.

Frank let out a low whistle as he opened the album and looked through its contents.

"What's that? Some sort of scrapbook from boarding school?"

"Not exactly." Frank held the album at arm's length. "Take a look."

Joe turned his head and saw himself. Photos, newspaper clippings, articles from magazines...just about every bit of publicity he and Frank had received over the years from their detective work, was showcased in Kathy's album. She'd decorated the borders of the pages with hand drawn hearts and love notes. Joe's jaw dropped.

"She set this whole thing up."

"Just to meet you. You should feel flattered Joe." Frank grinned and pointed to a newspaper article. "She obviously doesn't give a damn about me. She cut me out of this photo entirely just to fit it on the page. See? That's my left arm."

Joe got to his feet and looked over Frank's shoulder as he turned the pages. "What do we do now? We have to confront her."

"Yeah." Frank closed the scrapbook. "Let's think about this first. Maybe call Dad and get some advice from a mental health expert. Something like this has to be handled in the right way."

Joe nodded as he pocketed a few of the notes, then bent down and replaced the false bottom in the suitcase. He zipped it up, put it back in the closet and turned to Frank.

"You know, I almost feel sorry for her."

Frank put his arm around his brother's shoulders.

"This could be the wake-up call her father needs. Maybe he'll finally give her the attention she so obviously craves."

"Maybe. I just didn't think she was this messed up." Joe said, as he walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

Frank went to the bar and picked up the phone. "I'd like to place an international call please." He covered the receiver and looked at his brother. "You have to be extra careful about hiding your relationship with Emily now. No telling what Kathy might do if she found out."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy hurried to Kathy's side and knelt down.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know." Lauren knelt on the other side of her friend. "We were getting changed as Kathy walked back here and then out of nowhere, this person came up and hit her with something."

Nancy examined the knot on the back of Kathy's head.

"Person? Was it a man or a woman?"

"I couldn't tell. Whoever it was had on a hooded sweatshirt and a ski hat that covered their face." Lauren looked up at Nancy anxiously. "Is she going to be okay?"

Kathy stirred and began to groan. "My head. What happened to my head?"

"Somebody bonked you good," Bess said.

"Did you see anything, Bess?" Nancy asked as she helped Kathy to a sitting position.

Because this could throw a serious wrench into Frank and Joe's theory about Kathy being her own stalker. If she was stalking herself, then who assaulted her? Was somebody else after the senator's daughter? Or had she arranged this whole thing to make it look like she was in real danger when she wasn't?

"No, I was in front of my locker."

"Emily?" Nancy glanced up.

"I didn't see anything either." Emily reached forward to restrain Kathy who was trying to stand. "Maybe you should just sit for a while."

"No." Kathy reached her hand tentatively to the back of her head. "I want to go upstairs. I want Joe."

Nancy sighed. "Okay, fine. But Joe isn't going to be able to do anything for you. I think you need to be examined by a doctor."

"I want to be with him." Kathy struggled to a standing position, grabbing onto Emily to steady herself. "I need him to take care of me."

Nancy looked over her shoulder. "Bess, would you call the front desk and see if they have a doctor on call here?"

Bess nodded as she swung her purse over her shoulder and left.

"I want the same doctor Joe got for Emily and Frank," Kathy protested.

"He's a busy man, Kathy, and he only works for the monastery."

"Then how come Joe called him to come here for them today?"

"Frank and Emily were injured in the monastery. He was the doctor who treated them there."

Kathy sighed. "Fine. Just get me to Joe."

OOOoooOOO

"What did Dad say?" Joe asked when Frank hung up the phone.

"He had some great advice. He dealt with a person very similar to this on a case he had a few years ago." Frank crossed the room to stand in front of his brother. "He said the important thing is not to upset her. She could become violent when provoked."

"Swell." Joe threw his hands up in frustration. "So just how do we confront her and let her know the game is up? Because I'm done here, Frank."

"You need to do it in a way that doesn't make it look like you're out to get her. We can't belittle her or make her feel bad."

At this point, Joe could care less how Kathy felt. She'd lied to him and Frank, led them on a wild goose chase to Europe, and played them for fools. Joe didn't think she deserved any consideration from him at all.

"So pulling out the scrapbook and the notes and saying 'we know what you're up to, you nut job' won't cut it?"

"No. You need to be gentle, Joe. She needs help." Frank eased himself onto the arm of the sofa. "And it would probably be best to do it in private."

"Okay, well she likes nothing better than being alone with me, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Then let's arrange it so that you tell Kathy, and either me, or maybe Nan, can tell Simone or Louis. We don't know how she'll react to you confronting her with the truth. She may need help right away."

"You mean psychological help," Joe clarified.

"Yes. We also have to make sure Kathy doesn't find out about Emily…even after you've confronted her about her stalking scheme. She's worked up this huge fantasy in her head starring you and her. If she knows you're in love with somebody else...there's no telling how she'll react."

"I don't even want Kathy near Em anymore."

"Well, let's try and get this over with when the girls are finished skiing. Then we can help them with their case. I'm worried about what's going on in that monastery and I don't want Nan going there by herself. Ever again."

Joe grinned. "Don't let her hear you say that. She'll think you're trying to stifle her."

"She's getting better about that. She knows I'm only trying to protect her."

"Ah, but she doesn't need protecting, Frank. Isn't that what she always says?"

Before Frank could open his mouth to respond, the door to the suite opened, and then caught as the chain across it was pulled taut. Joe hurried to unlock it.

Nancy and Lauren stumbled in with a sagging Kathy between them. Tammy followed, her eyes wide with fright, and Bess and Emily brought up the rear.

"What the hell is going on?" Joe demanded.

Kathy pulled herself loose from the two girls and threw herself in Joe's arms.

"I was attacked! Oh, honey, it was so awful. Someone came up to me in the locker room, and before I could do anything, he hit me with something."

Joe looked over his head at Nancy who shrugged.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone anywhere without you," Kathy sobbed into Joe's chest. "Whoever is stalking me is trying to kill me."

_What the hell? Someone attacked her? Shit, what if she really did have a stalker? Besides herself._

"Let's get you to your bedroom. Then you can tell me what happened," Joe said, trying to remain upright while Kathy leaned into him.

OOOoooOOO

"She'll be fine," the hotel doctor said to Joe, handing him a bottle of pain medication after he finished examining Kathy. "Just keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours and report any unusual behavior."

Joe nodded and set the pills on Kathy's nightstand.

She grabbed his hand.

"You were right, Joe. I'm so sorry I didn't take any of the threats seriously. I'm really scared." A lone tear trickled down her cheek.

He patted her hand. "Frank and I will get to the bottom of this, don't worry."

Joe tried to walk away, but Kathy yanked hard on his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to work on your case."

"But can't Frank do that?"

"Kathy, my brother and I are a team. We work together."

"But his girlfriend's here. Can't she work with him? Why do you have to leave me?"

"Nancy has her own case. And I'm sorry, but I can't sit by your side every minute of the day." Joe pried her hand away and stepped back. "I'll only be in the next room."

"But I want you with me. I'm hurt. I need you."

"You need to rest," Joe said firmly. He walked over to the door. "I'll check on you later. Sleep."

Kathy pouted and crossed her arms in front of her indignantly. As she heard Emily's voice in the living room, her eyes narrowed.

Joe noticed.

OOOoooOOO

Frank looked up as Joe walked into the living room. "Is Kathy okay?"

"She's fine." Joe said in a clipped voice. "We need to have a meeting."

"Our room."

Joe nodded and headed that way. Nancy came up behind Frank just as he reached the door.

"Not without me you don't."

Frank grinned and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "I wouldn't dream of it, baby."

They entered the room and Frank closed the door behind him as Joe plopped down on his bed.

"Tell me what happened in the locker room," Joe asked Nancy.

When Nancy finished explaining how Kathy was attacked, Joe shook his head.

"It isn't related to the stalking, but maybe there's something else going on we don't know about."

Nancy looked at Frank. "Do you think the attack today was just something random?"

"I don't know at this point," he said. "Oh, but we did find the proof we were looking for while you were gone. A suitcase with a false bottom filled with drafts of 'stalker' notes and a whole scrapbook dedicated to Joe."

"Really?" Nancy sat on Frank's bed and nudged Joe's foot with her own. "Got yourself a genuine little groupie, don't you?"

"She's a psycho, not a groupie."

"Well, the scrapbook makes you a full-fledged teen idol, you know," Nancy teased. "Did she turn any of your photos into posters? Or a pillowcase?"

Joe glared at her.

"Maybe she has a Joe Hardy t-shirt hidden in one of her drawers," Nancy continued. "After we nail her, let's look for it. Em might want to wear it."

"Shut up," Joe said.

"Don't look so surly, Joe," Nancy said, shaking her finger at him. "You'll never make the cover of _Tiger Beat_ with that expression on your face."

Joe tossed his pillow at her.

"Okay," Frank intervened. "You can tease him later. Right now let's get back to the case."

"Fine, but I'm far from finished," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Joe rolled his eyes. "So back to the locker room. Somebody just came up to Kathy and hit her on the head? Didn't say anything, didn't try to grab her, just knocked her on the head and ran?"

"That's what the girls said," Nancy replied. "And she was definitely hurt. She was out cold for a few minutes."

"Yeah, she's not faking the lump on her head," Joe agreed.

Nancy shifted on the bed so that Frank could sit next to her. "I think you should hold off confronting her about the notes. See what happens next."

Joe groaned. "Are you kidding me? I can't take much more of this."

"You have the patience of a saint, Joe," Nancy acknowledged. "But what if, in addition to her stalking herself, she really does have someone after her?"

"Nan's right, Joe," Frank said. "Let's see what happens in the next twenty-four hours or so."

"I'll tell you what happens_. _I become the raving lunatic." He punched his pillow hard before laying back and slipping it under his head.

"Hey, what did you guys find out in the monastery that you wanted to talk to me about?" Frank asked, changing the subject.

Nancy's eyes took on an excited glint that made Frank smile.

"Simone's cryptic message from her novel spells out the name of the town where the monstrance and the statue used to be. You know, where the cathedral burned down?"

"What?" Frank turned to Joe who nodded. "You're kidding?"

"Nope. In fact, it's the first word."

Joe sat up and rummaged through his backpack, pulling out the tablet with Emily's translation written on it. He handed it to his brother.

Frank looked it over again. "But what in the world do these numbers mean? And, why would Simone have this information anyhow?"

Nancy shrugged. "It's weird, isn't it?" She glanced at Joe. "You didn't recognize the man who gave Simone the novel?"

"I only ever saw the back of his head. He had dark hair. That's all I can tell you."

"Do you have a pen?" Frank asked his brother. "I think I may have something here."

"Yeah." Joe shuffled through his pack and handed one to Frank.

Nancy leaned over his shoulder as he began scribbling down the numbers.

"I don't know why I didn't see this before. Maybe because I didn't know that Usanne was a town."

"What?"

Joe stood up and moved to the other side of Frank, sitting next to him.

Frank stopped writing. "What do these numbers look like?"

"No idea," Joe said.

"They're longitude and latitude coordinates."

"Frank, you're right." Nancy sat back. "But for what?"

"Maybe Usanne? Maybe somewhere near there."

Joe gestured to the tablet. "But what about this? The part where it says 'Engenbern, must snowshoe, Pére Jean-Claude, use key that isn't a key'. What does all that mean?"

Frank sighed. "I don't know, but I think we need to get to a map. That way we can at least pinpoint these coordinates. How about the library in the monastery? They must have one."

Nancy shook her head. "I had the creepiest feeling the last time Joe and I were there. Like we were being watched. I think whoever is behind the robberies is still in the monastery. And he's waiting to see what our next move is going to be."

"There's a library here in the hotel," Joe said. "More like a big reading room. I saw it the other day when I was taking Kathy down to the restaurant. I'm sure it has a map of Europe in it."

"Good. Why don't you try and get that information, Joe, as well as anything else you can dig up on either of these cities mentioned in Simone's note," Frank suggested. "Nan and I will head out to the little bookshop I saw across the town square. I'll bet they might have some information on these places that the monastery doesn't."

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"I want to find out if these are tourist type towns, or great places to ski, or if they're just remote villages where nobody goes. Travel stuff, you know. They may even have information on the legends surrounding the monstrance and the statue. Non-official type stuff that the monastery wouldn't want anyone to know."

Nancy smiled. "Like I've said before, you're a genius, Frank Hardy."

Frank's heart skipped a beat at the unabashed adoration in Nancy's eyes.

Joe groaned. "Geez, Nan. Don't make that head of his any bigger than it already is."

Frank chuckled and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend. "Thanks. As you can see, I don't exactly get a lot of positive affirmation from my own flesh and blood."

Joe picked up the notebook and returned it to his backpack as Frank and Nancy headed toward the door.

"Hey guys?" Joe called out.

They turned to look at him.

"You know this means we're implicating Simone in what happened at the monastery, don't you?"

Frank nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I just hope her involvement is peripheral and she had nothing to do with the actual theft of the artifacts."

"Or the attempted murder of Father Bertrand," Nancy added.

"If she did, that would take the only mother figure Kathy's ever had out of her life," Joe said.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Frank opened the bedroom door. "Find out what you can and then let's meet back here in an hour or so."

_Hopefully with some real answers_, he thought.

Because he was damned tired of hitting brick walls.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **Thank you, thank you to Caranath, zenfrodo, max2013, ILoveMom, Stork Hardy, BurnedSpy, Leya, Jackie, Future Animator, Vinsmouse and bhar for the reviews! You guys are awesome! Thanks also to those reading!

Chapter 28

Joe entered the living room of the suite and caught Emily's gaze. He made a slight gesture toward her room with his head.

She gave a tiny nod, moved away from the other girls, and hurried down the hallway.

Joe came up behind her just as she reached her door.

"Can you go down to the hotel library and wait there for me?" he asked. "I need to make sure Kathy is kept busy and then I'll follow you."

"There's a library here?"

"Yeah, on the first floor. Down the hall from the restaurant. I don't know if many people are even aware of it. It has large wooden double doors."

"Sure."

"And while you're waiting, could you check and see if they have some maps of Europe? With the latitude and longitude designations labeled on them?"

Emily raised her eyebrows. "Will you be explaining all of this to me?"

"When I get there." He winked. "After I kiss you senseless."

Emily smiled. "I'm on my way."

Joe waited in the hallway as she brushed past him and headed toward the front door, slipping out quietly before anyone noticed she'd gone.

He hoped the library had the maps, because he wanted to get both of these cases wrapped up as soon as possible.

After the week he'd spent with Kathy, he needed a vacation.

Desperately.

OOOoooOOO

"Nan and I are going out for a walk around town," Frank announced to Bess, Lauren and Tammy, who were gathered around the television watching an American movie.

"Have fun." Bess smiled. "St. Sylvie is a very romantic place."

"Especially with the right guy." Lauren gave a dreamy sigh as she looked at Frank.

Frank chuckled. Lauren still seemed to be harboring a bit of a crush on him.

"Hey Nan, maybe you two should hit that fondue restaurant we went to with Lars and his friends," Bess called out. "That was so good."

Frank turned to Nancy. "When did you go to a restaurant with those guys?"

If he recalled, they were the ones who escorted Nancy and Emily to the winter ball. The ones who looked like models. Body building models. With Olympic gold medals.

Nancy glared at Bess who was obviously trying not to laugh. "Oh, right after we got here. We needed them for cover."

So right after Nancy got here, she went on a date. With an Olympic skier who moonlighted as a model. He didn't like that. At all.

Frank cocked an eyebrow at Nancy and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I don't think you have room to talk, Mr. 'I took two teeny boppers to the prom for cover,'" Nancy whispered. "Especially when one of them is clearly in love with you."

Two giggly, gangly, teenagers were not in the same league as one overly muscular, overly pretty Olympian, with an Italian accent, in Frank's book. Not even close.

"That's hardly the same thing."

Nancy rolled her eyes and pushed him gently toward the door.

"Come on honey, we have a lot to see and not much daylight left. We'll argue about this later."

OOOoooOOO

Joe approached Simone as she left Kathy's bedroom. "How is she?"

"She's asleep right now. The drugs have finally hit her, I think."

Joe nodded. "Good. I'm going to leave for a little while. I need to try and work on some leads on this stalker. Go interview some people downstairs."

Simone looked at her watch. "Fine. She asked me to tell you to please be here when she wakes up. She says her head hurts less when you're around."

"And mine hurts more," he muttered.

"I'll be in my room if you need me," Simone announced as she walked past him.

Joe turned slightly to watch her.

_What on earth are you hiding behind that cold, efficient mask you've always got on?_

OOOoooOOO

Kathy peered through a crack in her doorway to observe what was going on in the suite. She'd pocketed the pain pill Simone had given her, knowing she'd never learn anything Joe didn't want her to know without doing some investigating of her own.

She'd seen Joe follow Emily down the hallway to her bedroom door. And then Emily left the suite in an awful big hurry.

_Why was he talking to her and not me? I'm hurt as badly as she is. What is it about her? _

Kathy leaned her ear against the door as she heard Joe announce that he was leaving to do some investigating. Maybe Emily was helping him, and she was just pretending to work with Nancy to throw off suspicion. Kathy had to find out.

She fumed as she heard Bess and her friends still chatting around the television. Why wouldn't they leave?

She glanced around her room and her gaze landed on the private line phone she'd requested in her bedroom. She didn't want that pain in the ass, Louis, listening in on any of her conversations and reporting them back to her father. Imagine if he'd heard her arranging for someone to bonk her on the head.

She walked over to the phone and hastily dialed the other extension in the living room. Tammy answered.

"Yes, this is the front desk," Kathy said in a disguised voice with a well-practiced French accent. "I have a message for the young American mademoiselles.

"Oh?" Tammy replied.

"Another of our guests, Matteo D'Amico, has requested that you meet him downstairs in the lobby. He tried to get through to you from his room, but we've been having some trouble with the phones."

"Really? When does he want to meet us?"

"Right away, I believe. He is waiting in the lounge."

"Tell him we'll be down there in two minutes." Tammy hung up the phone.

Kathy smiled as she heard the excited squeals emanating from the living room.

"I need to get ready," Lauren called out.

Kathy panicked for a moment and rushed to jump back in bed.

"No, don't go in there," Tammy spoke up. "You might wake her up."

"We can use my room," Bess said. "I have enough hair products and makeup for ten people."

Kathy sighed with relief as she heard the girls voices fade. She quickly slipped out of her bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind her, and exited the suite.

OOOoooOOO

Emily found the hotel library easily and stepped inside. It was wood paneled and cozy. Bookshelves jutted out in a perpendicular fashion from the walls for the entire length of the space, with a break in the middle of the room for lots of upholstered chairs and couches to sit on. A large stone fireplace burned brightly against one wall, and Emily thought the whole place looked very inviting.

It was also deserted.

She began browsing through the bookshelves, finding mostly popular novels and some reference books on the area. Finally, on a large table under an equally large window, at the far end of the library, she found the maps. She opened a drawer and pulled out several of Europe and one of Switzerland, France, and Germany.

She spread them on the table and waited there for Joe.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy hurried down to the lobby hoping to locate Joe somewhere in the building.

She took the stairs for speed, and in order to avoid detection. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she exited the stairwell in a rear hallway.

Quietly moving forward, she realized she was by the restaurant. She went to turn the corner, but saw Joe and jumped back.

He was headed in her direction, but he paused in front of a large set of double doors.

Looking both ways, he quickly opened one of the doors and disappeared inside.

OOOoooOOO

Joe found Emily standing in front of a long table covered with maps. He rushed over to her, drawing her up against his chest.

"I've missed you so much."

She giggled. "Joe, you've seen me every day this week."

"Not the same thing."

She slipped her arms around his neck as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling the fresh scent of her shampoo.

"It's killing me to be in the same room with you and not touch you. Especially when you're hurting so badly." He kissed her along her jaw. "I'm sorry, baby."

"Don't apologize, Joe. You were just doing your job. I understand."

Emily tilted her head, allowing him easier access to her neck. He took full advantage. He smiled when she shivered as his mouth moved over her skin, warm and tender.

"But I did miss this," she murmured. "How close are you to solving your case?"

He chuckled and raised his head. "Very. We think we can have it wrapped up in a day or two."

"Do you still need me to help? You mentioned that before."

He shook his head. "Things have changed. I don't want to do that anymore. It might be dangerous."

Emily's eyes clouded. "I don't like that word."

He bent his forehead so that it was touching hers.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to talk about the case right now. In fact, I don't want to talk at all."

He brought his lips to hers, kissing her tenderly, gently coaxing her mouth open so he could deepen the kiss. He groaned as he tasted her, tightening his hold around her waist, pulling her close until she melted against him.

His world shrank down to just the two of them.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy approached the now closed doors she'd seen Joe enter just moments ago. She opened one very slowly, careful not to make a sound.

Slipping inside, she moved behind a set of bookshelves.

She heard nothing.

Kathy continued to walk further into the room, pausing between each stack to see if she could spot Joe.

As she neared the other side of the room, she saw him.

And in his arms, kissing him passionately, was Emily Clark.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **Thanks so much Guest, flowerlover, BurnedSpy, Caranath, pen4lew, max2013, Guest, Jackie, Lady Emily, Leya, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Future Animator, Vinsmouse and bhar for your reviews! You all are great! Thank you to those reading, also! And now, back to the psycho chick. ;)

Chapter 29

Kathy's breath hitched and her chest squeezed so tightly, she thought for a moment she was going to faint.

She blinked, unable to believe what she was seeing right in front of her.

Joe and Emily.

Together.

His hands were all over her.

Kissing her.

Touching her.

How could he betray her like this?

OOO

Joe pulled back from Emily and tried to gather up some semblance of self-control.

"Being away from you is torture, baby. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Emily stroked Joe's hair and smiled. "I know. Sometimes it's really hard to be in the suite with you and Kathy. I know you're just acting, but still..."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, tenderly kissing her temple. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You know she means nothing to me."

Emily smiled. "Joe, it's okay. I understand."

His fingers tangled in her hair as he held her against his chest. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

She giggled. "Actually, no, you haven't."

He smiled as he cradled her face between his hands and drew back so that he could look into her eyes. "I love you, Emily. More than I can even say."

Her eyes welled up with tears and she wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

"And I love you," she whispered after several moments had passed.

He smiled at her and pulled her close again. He knew he was making himself crazy, but he didn't care. He held her tightly, feeling her whole body pressing into his, and got lost in the sensation. His mouth covered hers, kissing her intensely, possessively, until he knew he didn't want to stop.

"Baby, you feel so good," he breathed into her ear as they broke apart.

Emily whimpered, her body limp against his, as she ran her hands down his chest then tugged his shirt out of his jeans.

He knew then that he wasn't going to stop.

Couldn't stop.

His fingers were undoing the buttons of her blouse, when something broke through the haze of desire clouding his mind.

A noise.

They weren't alone.

He pulled away from Emily, heard her gasp of protest, and held his finger to his lips to indicate silence.

Emily's eyes widened and she hastily pulled her shirt closed as Joe peered down the aisle of books closest to them.

As he rounded the corner, he heard the click of the library door shutting. He dashed over to it and flung it open wide.

Staring down the hallway in both directions, he saw...nothing.

He stepped back inside and walked over to Emily who was trying to straighten her hair. He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Well, we almost gave somebody quite a show."

She giggled. "Maybe they went to try and sell tickets."

Joe hugged her tightly and laughed. "I'd have to kick them all out. Nobody gets to see you but me."

He kissed her tenderly.

"I think we'd better hurry and do whatever you needed to with these maps before we really get in trouble," she said.

"Yeah, I know." He cupped her chin in his hand. "I'm going to have this solved in less than forty-eight hours, I promise."

Emily gave him a wistful smile. "I'm going to hold you to that."

Joe sealed the bargain with another heated kiss.

OOOoooOOO

Kathy stood up and backed away from the trash can in the janitor's closet, where she had emptied the contents of her stomach.

Her hands were trembling.

_He loves her? He loves that bitch? How could he? How could he do this to me? I knew she was trying to take him away from me. Trying to tempt him. _

She drew a shaky hand over her mouth. Well, that was just too damned bad.

Emily couldn't have him.

_Joe Hardy is mine. And only mine. _

Whatever it took, everybody was going to know that by tonight.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy slid her arm around Frank's waist and snuggled into him as they walked across the town square.

Frank pulled her closer and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Cold?"

"Mostly excited," she said, her eyes shining. "I think I may finally have a breakthrough on this case, thanks to you."

Frank smiled. He was grateful that Nancy was starting to rely on him as a partner. He knew how well they worked together…and how much fun it was to share a passion for something like they did.

"I'm happy to help. And actually, your case is a lot more interesting than mine and Joe's."

"Oh, yours is interesting, too," Nancy said, stepping through the door to the small bookstore as Frank held it open. "But in a whole different way. Freud would have a field day with it."

Frank laughed. "No kidding. But I prefer something with a little more action. Not just mind games."

He looked up as the proprietor, an elderly woman with crystal blue eyes and silvery hair, approached them.

"How may I help you?" she asked with a warm smile and a heavy French accent.

"Well, we're looking for information on some of your local sites. The cathedral and the Madonna statue in particular."

"Oh, yes, we have many books on that subject." She gestured toward the back of the store. "Follow me, please."

Nancy and Frank moved between the narrow stacks of the bookstore to shelves that took up the entire back wall.

"Here are our local history books. Most are in French, but many are in English as well."

"One of our traveling companions speaks French," Nancy said. "Could you show us your most comprehensive book about the cathedral in French for her and then we'll take a look at the English ones?"

"Certainly." She reached up and pulled down a thick paperback. "This is one of the best ones in French. It will tell you all you need to know about the history of our town, our cathedral and monastery, and the statue of our Lady."

Nancy took it and began thumbing through the pages, pausing to look at the photos it contained.

Frank turned to the proprietor. "We're also trying to find information on some other towns. Usanne and Engenbern. Have you heard of them?"

"Oui," she replied. "Usanne is a mountain village on the French border. People travel there for the skiing. It is only accessible by train. The most romantic way to travel there is the overnight train. It leaves from our station every evening around nine-thirty. It takes a rather roundabout route, but most people enjoy that."

"Really?" Frank said. "That sounds like it might be fun. Are there many tourists there at this time of year?"

The woman shrugged. "If you are an avid cross-country skier or like to snowshoe, yes. Otherwise there is not much to do."

She stepped over to another bookshelf and retrieved a volume. "Here is a guidebook for you. Engenbern is an even smaller town. It is popular in the summer with...how do you say it...spelunkers?"

"There are caves there?"

"Oui." The woman smiled. "Many caves. They are not easily accessible in the winter however."

Nancy handed her four more books she'd taken off the shelf. "Thank you so much for your help. We'll take these as well."

The woman nodded and began to walk to the front of the store. "You are very welcome. I see you have a great interest in our little village."

"We've fallen in love with it since we've been here," Nancy agreed.

The woman set the books on the counter in the front of the store and began wrapping them up in brown paper and tying the parcel with string.

"That is wonderful. We get many honeymooners such as yourselves who adore this place and return year after year." She winked at them. "You can make many wonderful memories on a honeymoon trip that you want to relive."

Nancy opened her mouth to protest, but Frank silenced her with a nudge.

"Yes, you can." He slid his arm around Nancy's shoulders. "And I'm sure my wife and I will be one of those couples who return as often as we can."

Frank thought the proprietor had remarkable insight. He also knew Nancy was embarrassed. They hadn't discussed marriage in any kind of serious way, but Frank wanted to start. Maybe this would be the opening he needed to get the conversation going.

The clerk handed Nancy the package as she accepted money from Frank.

"Yes, I can see it in your eyes. You two are truly in love. You will have many happy years together. Perhaps someday you will come back with your babies and teach to them to ski here?"

Frank grinned as he looked at Nancy's bright red face and took the parcel of books from her. He knew she was now beyond embarrassed and well on her way to mortified. He was going to have fun with this.

"I'm planning on it. We'll be sure to stop in and see you again when we do."

The woman smiled a knowing smile at Nancy. "You will have many of his babies. You are a very passionate couple. I know these things."

Nancy nodded and dropped her head as Frank reached for her hand and led her to the door. The bell tinkled overhead as they stepped out into the cold early evening air.

"Well, that was...enlightening," Nancy said.

"What?" Frank teased. "You don't want to have my babies?"

Nancy blushed more deeply. "Maybe we should solve our cases before we start talking about babies."

Frank laughed. "Suit yourself. But don't think you're getting off that easily."

She reached down and scooped up a handful of snow to toss at him.

Frank grabbed her hand, forcing her to let it go, then pulled her into him, kissing her deeply under a streetlamp as snowflakes began to fall softly around them.

OOOoooOOO

Joe and Emily were leaning over the maps spread across the library table, their heads touching as they studied them intently.

"Okay," Joe said. "Put your finger there. That's the spot for the first coordinate."

Emily placed her index finger on the point while Joe traced his finger along a latitude line. He stopped when he reached Emily.

"X marks the spot," he said with a grin.

"And where exactly is this spot?"

Joe lifted his finger and bent down to get a closer look. "Well, it's between Usanne and Engenbern, which are the towns mentioned in Simone's notes, but it looks like it's sort of the middle of nowhere."

"There aren't any towns labeled there." Emily looked up. "Do you suppose this is right?"

"The coordinates were pretty precise. They went out for several decimal points. It wasn't just a ballpark figure."

"Maybe this map isn't detailed enough."

"Maybe." Joe sighed. "Well, at least we know the general area. Now we need to get a map of Engenbern and Usanne. It looks like they're only about 30 miles apart from each other."

"What do you think these coordinates mean? What do you think is there?"

"No idea."

Emily cocked her head and smiled at him. "But I suspect we're going to go there and find out, aren't we?"

Joe leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "Just as soon as my case is wrapped up."

"Which will be within forty-eight hours?"

He crossed his heart. "I promise."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: **As always, a big thank you to Caranath, max2013, Guest, zenfrodo, BurnedSpy, Stork Hardy, Future Animator, Kenna, Jackie, Vinsmouse, bhar, Guest and ILoveMom! You made my day! Thank you to anyone reading as well!

Chapter 30

Emily left the library five minutes before Joe did and rode the elevator up to the penthouse. She took a deep breath before she entered the suite, hoping she looked calm and collected…not hot and bothered. Which she definitely was, after the intense make out session she'd had with Joe downstairs. She couldn't help smiling to herself. It had been exactly what she needed.

She opened the door and found everyone assembled in the living room on couches, with Kathy standing in the center of the room looking very smug and self-satisfied. Warning bells started clanging in Emily's head.

"What's going on?"

Frank spoke first. "Um, Kathy said she had an announcement to make and she wanted all of us here for it."

Kathy turned to Emily, her expression ice cold, her eyes filled with hatred so intense, Emily took a step backwards.

"Where's Joe?" Kathy demanded.

Emily had a momentary flashback to the last few moments she'd spent with him in the library, and prayed she wasn't blushing.

"I have no idea."

Emily was summoning all the acting skills she possessed in order not to appear guilty. She hoped it was working.

"I can't make my announcement without him," Kathy insisted.

Louis stood from the couch.

"Well, I think you've wasted just about enough of my time. I have some reports I need to fax to your father's office, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Oh, there he is!" Kathy squealed as Joe opened the door.

Emily couldn't help smiling when she saw him. Joe's hair was a bit disheveled, although he'd managed to get his shirt tucked back into his jeans…for the most part. Too bad he had to go back to "Miss Bratty" for the moment. Although part of her did want to hear what Kathy's big announcement was. Maybe she'd solved her own case and they could all go home.

Emily was shoved to the side as Kathy pushed past her, skipping toward Joe excitedly. Too excitedly. Emily frowned and a sense of uneasiness passed over her.

Something was up…and it wasn't anything good.

OOO

Joe glanced around as he entered the living room and noticed everyone staring at him expectantly. Emily looked almost upset. If Kathy had said something nasty to her, he was going to let her have it. Right here in front of everyone.

"What?"

Louis crossed his arms in front of him.

"Kathy said you had some big announcement to make. We're all waiting with bated breath to hear what it could possibly be."

Joe exchanged glances with Frank, who shrugged his shoulders. Did Kathy know they'd found her out?

"Come here, honey. Don't be shy," Kathy insisted, reaching for Joe's arm and dragging him to the center of the room.

She smiled at him, her eyes a little too bright.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?"

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you'd better, because I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kathy giggled and gave him a little slap on the arm.

"He's just being silly."

Joe looked around the room at the expectant faces of Tammy, Lauren, Louis and Simone and then at the baffled faces of Nancy, Emily, Bess and Frank. A sense of impending doom fell over him. What the hell was Kathy up to now?

"What we want to tell you is...Joe has asked me to marry him. We're engaged!"

Loud squeals erupted from Tammy and Lauren as they pounced on Kathy, who eagerly showed them a very large diamond ring on her left hand.

Louis moved over to Joe.

"I don't know what the hell the senator is paying you for this job, but I'm going to send him a fax right now demanding that he give you a bonus. A substantial one." He patted Joe on the back before walking out of the suite.

Simone gave him a tight smile as she left the room.

Joe was stunned. Had he heard Kathy correctly? His eyes shot to Emily who was standing with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. He shook his head and she gave him a wan smile in return.

Joe stepped over to his brother who was standing with his jaw clenched and his lips in a tight line.

"Did she just say I asked her to marry me?"

Frank sighed. "Yeah. Listen, you need to take her to dinner and end this charade right now. She's obviously taking this 'boyfriend' thing too far."

"No kidding. This ends tonight, Frank."

Joe was definitely done. Being with Emily earlier had only made him miss her all the more, and he was finished being Kathy's "boy toy". No matter how much the senator was paying him, it wasn't worth it. And now that he had irrefutable proof that Kathy was guilty, he wasn't going to do this for one more minute.

Kathy ushered her girlfriends over to the bar, waving her hand with the diamond ring on it the whole way.

"I'm worried she's crossed the line, Joe," Frank said in a low voice. "I think she actually believes what she's saying. You'll need to be very careful how you approach this."

"Yeah, well right now I feel like shouting out the truth to the whole damned room," Joe fumed. He paused and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll take her down to the restaurant. You wait about fifteen minutes then head down there yourself. Judging by this little performance, I think I'll need some back up."

"Maybe I'll bring Nancy, too. A woman's perspective, and all that." Frank clapped Joe on the shoulder. "Good luck, bro."

"Yeah, thanks," Joe muttered as he headed toward the bar. "Um, Kathy," I'd like to spend some time alone with you. How about we go to the restaurant now?"

"Oh, honey, you're so sweet," she cooed. "Of course we can spend some time alone."

She hurried over to him, and before Joe knew what was happening, she'd kissed him soundly on the lips.

Joe jumped back startled.

Emily coughed.

"Okay," Joe said through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to wipe his hand across his mouth. "Let's go then."

Kathy took his arm, and instead of heading to the door, steered him past Emily.

"Oh, Emily, I don't think you got a chance to see my ring."

She held her left hand out directly under Emily's nose.

"It's gorgeous," Emily said. "And a whole lot bigger than Joe should be able to afford on a detective's salary. What is that, three carats?"

"Four," Kathy said. "It's a little expensive, but he thinks I'm worth it."

"Oh, I'm sure he does."

Joe noticed the mischievous glint that came into Emily's eye and he squirmed. She was up to something here.

"We don't really want to have a long engagement. We're planning on eloping as soon as possible. He simply can't wait for the honeymoon." Kathy patted Joe's chest in a possessive gesture

Joe swallowed hard to push down the bile that rose from his stomach at that statement. She was freaking certifiable.

Bess snorted. "Sorry," she said, waving her hand in front of her face. "That was not the image I needed in my head."

Joe braced himself as he watched Emily give Kathy a conspiratorial smile and lean closer to her.

"I totally understand about the honeymoon. You know, the Bayport rumor mill says that Joe Hardy is absolutely amazing in bed. I just hope you can live up to his expectations."

Bess burst out laughing.

Emily took a step backwards and studied Kathy, then furrowed her brow and sighed.

"You are going to have your work cut out for you though. He only sleeps with real women, you know. Not underdeveloped high school girls."

Joe's jaw dropped. What the hell was Emily doing? And Bess? She was not helping either. He tugged on Kathy's arm before Emily could say another word.

"Come on, Kathy. I want to talk to you. Now."

If he made it through this damn assignment it would be a freaking miracle.

OOO

Emily watched as Joe dragged Kathy through the door of the suite and slammed it behind him. Lauren and Tammy hurried off to their bedroom, discussing wedding plans the whole way, and Bess collapsed against Emily, holding her sides and shaking with laughter.

"That was…priceless!" Bess paused to take a breath, then burst into laughter anew. "Did you see her face? Oh my gosh, Em. You totally let her have it. 'Underdeveloped high school girls?' She was actually speechless. That was awesome."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Joe's going to kill me."

"So what? It was totally worth it." Bess wiped her eyes. "Besides, she deserved all that…and more. What a little bitch she is."

Nancy strolled over to them. "High five, Em. Joe's pissed, but you win."

Emily slapped Nancy's hand, then sank into the sofa with a deep sigh. "It wasn't very professional of me. Seriously guys, I don't even know where that came from."

Nancy sat down beside her. "It came from the fact that you have reached your limit with Kathy's asinine behavior. And rightfully so."

Bess laughed. "Joe's not even my boyfriend, and I reached my limit about three days ago."

"You won't have to worry about Kathy anymore after tonight, Em. I promise," Frank said.

"Why not?" Emily asked. "Apparently now she's going to marry Joe."

"She's the stalker. Joe's going to confront her with the evidence right now."

"What?" Emily exclaimed. "She's her own stalker?"

"I'm afraid so." Frank crooked his finger. "Follow me."

He led the girls into the bedroom he shared with Joe and showed them the scrapbook.

"Oh. My. Gosh," Bess said. "This girl is whacked. And not the ordinary kind of whacked. She's the Mrs. Rochester, Mrs. Danvers, 'I'm going to the burn the whole house down while I scream maniacally', kind of whacked."

Emily couldn't help laughing at that. Not to mention, she thought it was one hundred percent true.

"We also found a bunch of rough drafts of threatening notes she wrote as the stalker," Frank continued. "It's pretty cut and dried."

"She made all of this up so she could get Joe," Nancy explained. "He's posing as her boyfriend, not because she needed a detective, but because she wanted Joe to be her boyfriend."

"Wow," Emily whispered.

She flipped through the pages of photos, newspaper clippings and stories about Joe. There were hearts and kiss marks everywhere. Actual lipstick prints…right across Joe's photos. It disgusted and terrified Emily all at the same time.

Emily looked up at Frank. "What is she going to do when Joe confronts her with this? She's going to be really upset."

"I'm headed down there right now," he assured her. "I don't think she'll cause a scene in the restaurant. Too many people around."

"I hope you're right."

Because Emily was doubtful. This girl wanted Joe. And Kathy Martin always got what she wanted.

Frank was about to say something else, when Louis burst through the door.

"My handgun is missing."

OOOoooOOO

Joe led Kathy into the restaurant downstairs without saying a word. He was so mad at the moment that he was afraid that whatever came out of his mouth would completely screw up this case.

Kathy was chattering nervously the entire time.

"I know I took you by surprise upstairs, but I felt it was what we needed to do. Tammy and Lauren were starting to doubt that our relationship is real, and–"

"Our relationship isn't real, Kathy," he interrupted.

"I–I know that," she said, as Joe pulled out a chair for her. "But, you don't seem to be getting anywhere with the stalker, and so we're probably going to have to be together longer than we originally thought..."

She paused as the waiter approached, handing them menus.

"We're not going to be together longer than we thought," Joe said.

He would try and be gentle with her. But he was going to be firm. She was not going to have any doubt in her mind what Joe thought of this whole "relationship" and her behavior by the time he was finished.

"B-but, you have to solve my case," Kathy protested, laying her menu on the table without a glance. "You have to keep being my boyfriend."

Joe caught her gaze and held it. "I'm not your boyfriend, Kathy. I'm a detective your father hired. This isn't my real life. You are not a part of my real life."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I know that's how it started out, Joe, but I thought...I thought maybe you were beginning to have feelings for me."

Joe sighed as the waiter approached the table to take their order. He handed him the menu. "I'm not very hungry. I'll just have a cola."

"Very good, sir." The waiter turned to Kathy. "Mademoiselle?"

"Um, I'll have a garden salad. Dressing on the side."

The waiter gave a slight bow as he walked away.

"Kathy," Joe began. "You might as well know the truth. I have a girlfriend. In fact, you've met her. It's Emily."

Kathy began shaking her head as Joe leaned forward to continue.

"She's the one I'm going to marry, Kathy. Not you."

"That's not true," she whispered. "Don't you see? It can't be true."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not what I planned."

Joe sighed heavily. Good grief this chick was spoiled. He pulled the notes out of his pocket.

"Look, I didn't want to have to be this blunt with you. We found these today. We know you're the stalker. It's over, Kathy."

Kathy stared at the notes in Joe's hand and started visibly trembling. "Why are you doing this? Why are you ruining everything?"

"What am I ruining?"

"Everything," she wailed. "You and me. We're supposed to be together. You're supposed to fall in love with me. We're supposed to get married."

"I'm in love with Emily."

"No, no you're not." She shook her head vigorously. "You just think you are. Sh-she has you under some sort of spell. All of that in the library...she was just tempting you, Joe. You really belong to me. If you just stay away from her and marry me, it'll all work out."

Joe looked at her sharply. "The library? You were the one who was in there? You saw me with Emily?"

Shit. That couldn't be good. He was all over Emily in the library. And Kathy had seen every minute of it.

"Yes, but I know it didn't mean anything. She's beautiful. That's why you were kissing her. That's the only reason."

Kathy had a wild look in her eyes that gave Joe pause.

"Yes," he said cautiously. "Emily is beautiful, but that's not why I was kissing her. I love her. We belong to each other. She's going to be my wife someday."

"No!" Kathy cried, loudly enough to cause nearby patrons to glance their way.

Joe reached out and touched the hand she was resting on the table cloth. He needed to calm her down. Kathy wasn't reacting the way he thought she would. He expected a tantrum, not a total denial of reality.

"Look, you won't be prosecuted for what's happened. Your dad will get you help. You can overcome this."

Kathy cocked her head to one side and frowned. "Overcome this? Overcome what? It's very simple, Joe. You and I are getting married."

She lifted a handgun to the edge of the table, aiming it at Joe.

"Tonight."


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: **Thanks so much to Caranath, centaurdy jackson007, Guest, max2013, zenfrodo, pen4lew, Future Animator, BurnedSpy, Jackie, Stork Hardy, Guest, Lady Emily, Vinsmouse, ILoveMom, Leya, and bhar for reviewing. You are awesome! And of course, thanks to anyone reading! I appreciate it!

Chapter 31

"Your what?" Frank asked Louis. "What did you say is missing?"

"My handgun. I keep it in the night table drawer. For protection." Louis began to pace back and forth. "I came back to the suite and went into my bedroom, and I noticed the drawer was slightly open, so I checked it. It's gone."

Shit. Things just got a lot more serious.

Emily clutched Frank's arm. "Joe."

"Yeah, I'm headed down there right now."

"Not without me you're not," Nancy said.

"Me either," Emily insisted.

"Well, why don't we make it party?" Bess suggested.

Frank glanced at the determined faces surrounding him. He didn't want to waste time protesting.

"Fine. Just stay behind me, and don't do anything until I can figure out what's going on."

As they all moved toward the door of the suite, Nancy turned to Louis.

"Does Kathy know how to shoot?"

Louis's face was grim. "Yes, her father thought it would be prudent to teach her how to protect herself with all the threats that have been going on."

"Swell."

OOOoooOOO

"Kathy, put that gun away," Joe said firmly.

Why did these things always happen to him? Why didn't crazy chicks ever pull a gun on Frank? First his nutty ex-girlfriend, Wendy Chase, and now Kathy. It was getting old.

"No, Joe. I told you. We're going to be married."

"That's not possible. It's six-thirty at night. We're in a foreign country. We don't have a license. It can't happen."

"Oh, but that's where being the daughter of a powerful U.S. senator pays off." She smiled sweetly. "It can happen. It already has. I got a special dispensation license right after I saw you in the library. It's waiting at the monastery. Along with a priest who will officiate at our ceremony."

"Are you telling me you had your father call to get a marriage license for us? And he agreed?"

"No, silly. I just paid someone to do it. Just like I paid someone to hit me over the head in the locker room, trash our suite, and make those phone calls." Kathy sighed. "You're so naïve, Joe. Most people can be bought if the price is right."

"Well, I'm not one of them, and I'm not marrying you." Joe held out his hand. "Now give me the gun."

Kathy shook her head. "No. I can't do that. It'll mess everything up."

"You're not going to hurt me, Kathy. I know you're not."

"You're right, Joe. I'm not."

She turned the gun slightly so that it was aimed at her chin, and stared at him with a look that chilled him to the bone.

"If you won't marry me, I'll pull the trigger."

OOOoooOOO

As Frank, the girls, and Louis headed downstairs, Nancy filled in the senator's aide on what had happened with Kathy. Louis shook his head.

"Well, this is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard. She's pretending to have a stalker so her dad will buy her a boyfriend?"

"She's mentally ill, Louis," Nancy said.

"No kidding." He stared at the ceiling. "Don't think I didn't tell Senator Martin this years ago. But did he listen? No."

"All that matters right now is that we get both Kathy and Joe back upstairs without anyone getting hurt," Nancy continued. "She's very unstable."

"Yeah." Louis paused in the lobby. "Look, maybe I'd better get her father on the phone. He needs to be here. This is one parental duty I'm not going to allow him to delegate."

As Louis headed toward the elevators, Frank turned to Nancy.

"I'm going into the restaurant. If I'm not back in a couple of minutes, come in behind me. But stay out of sight. If there's a problem, call the police."

"Frank?" Emily spoke up. "Can I come?"

"Joe will kill me if I bring you in there." Frank patted her on the back reassuringly and turned to kiss Nancy. "Stay here."

Nancy watched as Frank disappeared into the restaurant. She was letting him have his way because the situation was urgent, but she was not going to be left behind on this, no matter what her "alpha male" boyfriend had decreed.

"I hate this," Emily hissed. "I hate not knowing what's happening. Can't we follow him?"

"Yes, in exactly fifteen seconds," Nancy said.

"Nancy's definition of a 'couple of minutes' is a loose one," Bess said.

Nancy kept her eye on the second hand of her watch. "We can go in...now."

She started to march toward the restaurant entrance and ran right into Frank.

"They're not in there."

OOOoooOOO

"Kathy, be reasonable," Joe said, as they crossed the town square toward the monastery.

"I am being reasonable."

Well, that was rich, Joe thought. If being kidnapped late at night and forced into a marriage at gunpoint was reasonable, then he was Miss America.

As the doors of the monastery came into view, Kathy picked up the pace.

"Stay in front of me," she warned Joe, motioning him ahead of her.

Joe sighed. If he could just get her to let down her guard a little, maybe he could get the gun away from her.

"Okay, Kathy."

"It has to be this way, you'll see," she insisted. "Go up and knock on the door. And don't make any sudden moves. This gun will go off faster than you can turn around."

Joe knew she meant it by the tone of her voice. He picked up the ancient doorknocker and rapped three times. The door was opened by a young candidate.

"Oui?"

"Hi." Kathy took a step forward and clutched Joe's arm. "I'm Senator Martin's daughter. I spoke with someone earlier this evening. We're here to be married."

OOOoooOOO

"What do you mean they're not in there?" Nancy asked Frank.

"Just what I said, they're not in the restaurant."

Frank was furious with himself. He'd made a horrible miscalculation. He should have just confronted Kathy in the suite in front of everyone. She may have gone ballistic, but at least she wouldn't have been armed.

"Well, maybe somebody saw them." Nancy grabbed onto the shirt sleeve of a passing waiter. "Excuse me? Did you see two young people in here a few minutes ago having dinner? Young, blond, good looking, both Americans?"

The man's voice was tinged with a heavy French accent. "Yes, mademoiselle. They left in a hurry though. They didn't even wait for their food."

"Do you know where they went?"

The waiter shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't."

Frank swore. "I shouldn't have let him come down here alone. I should have followed him."

Emily's eyes were welling with tears. "Where could they be?"

"Excusez-moi?" A busboy approached them. "The young American couple? Is this who you are looking for?"

"Oui," Emily replied.

"I think they went across the square. I heard the girl say they had to go to la cathedrale. I think they want to...how do you say it in English? Mariez?"

"Get married?" Emily's voice rose an octave.

"Oui, elope."

"Thank you, you've been very helpful," Frank said.

"De rien," he responded as he walked off.

Frank turned to Emily and noticed the color had completely drained from her face.

"Don't worry. It's going to be okay."

Emily nodded mutely as Bess slipped her arm around her.

"How do we do this?" Nancy asked. "She's obviously got the gun on him."

Frank took her hand and headed for the door.

"Let's just get over there. We'll figure it out on the way."

OOOoooOOO

Joe stood with Kathy in the candlelit cathedral, shadows dancing off the statues and sculptures, as the flames on the votive candles flickered in their holders.

"It's a pity I don't have a wedding gown," Kathy said. "But I have you, so it doesn't matter."

Joe didn't respond. He was trying too hard to figure out how on earth he was going to stop this farce of a ceremony and keep Kathy from hurting herself. Having the client of a powerful public figure kill herself right in front of him, when he was supposed to be guarding her, would ensure that he never worked as a detective again. He looked up at the domed ceiling and let out a deep breath.

_Come on, Frank. Where the hell are you?_

OOOoooOOO

In the foyer of the monastery, Nancy quickly summoned Father Xavier and explained the situation. He nodded gravely.

"Yes, my clerk explained what was going on. We received a license about an hour ago by courier. That's not unusual…they're sent all the time prior to marriages, but the instructions were explicit with it. This ceremony is to take place tonight."

"She's mentally ill, Father," Frank explained. "And we have every reason to believe she's armed and holding the gun on my brother. We have to be very careful."

"Yes, of course." Father Xavier frowned. "They are waiting in the cathedral right now. Do you think you could talk her out of it?"

Frank snorted. "All she's been doing for the past two weeks is trying to snag my brother. If she's got him in front of an altar with a priest on the way, she's not going to change her mind."

An idea was forming in Nancy's head. Maybe they could turn the tables on Kathy, and stall her long enough for the police to arrive.

"What if we just go through with the ceremony?" Nancy suggested.

"What?" Emily said. "I don't like that option."

Nancy rested her hand on Emily's arm.

"Not with a real priest. With someone else. Who could pretend to perform a marriage?"

"Guillaume," Bess offered. "He's not a real monk, right?"

"Right!" Nancy exclaimed. "Does Kathy know that?"

"No," Emily said. "I mean, she's seen him before, but she doesn't know he's only a candidate. That he hasn't taken any vows."

"Then we could have Guillaume take the place of the priest," Nancy said. "He could pretend to start the ceremony, and that way Kathy will think she's getting what she wants."

"Which would buy us some time and give the police a chance to arrive and get in position, without anyone getting hurt," Frank finished.

"Exactly," Nancy said.

Frank pulled her into him and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Now who's the genius?"

"Well, what are we standing around for?" Bess asked. "We have a wedding to attend."

OOOoooOOO

Joe looked up as Father Xavier stepped into the cathedral with Guillaume. The priest paused by the front pew where Joe and Kathy were seated.

"Your license seems to be in order, so I believe we can begin the ceremony."

Kathy squealed with delight and Joe felt like a man condemned to the gallows. He glanced at Guillaume. _He's probably here so he can go after Emily as soon as the vows are exchanged. _

"I do have a special request to make of you," Father Xavier continued. "Your brother and your friends are here. We need witnesses and they would like to participate in the ceremony."

Joe tried to keep his expression neutral and not breathe out a sigh of relief. Frank was here. Which meant there was a plan to end this mess. Joe just had to go with the flow for a little while longer and stay cool.

Kathy's eyes narrowed. "Can't you just be the witness, Father?"

"Non, mademoiselle. It is not legal for a member of the clergy to sign the marriage certificate as a witness. It must be a layman."

"Fine. But they have to stay back. I get nervous if people are too close to me."

"Very well."

Father Xavier nodded, and Frank, Nancy, Emily and Bess stepped through the side door and approached the altar.

Joe's stomach twisted as he spotted Emily. Her eyes were huge, and he could tell she was frightened for him. _I'm so sorry to put you through this, baby._

"That's far enough," Kathy called out as soon as they were twenty feet away.

"I want my brother to stand up for me," Joe whispered. "We've planned it this way our whole lives."

Kathy paused. "Okay, but he takes the long way around to get to you."

Frank nodded and began to walk through the pews behind them.

"Where I can see you," Kathy insisted, and Frank redirected his steps to pass in front of the altar.

"Do you wish to have one of these young women to be the second witness?" Father Xavier asked Kathy.

_Shit. Why the hell did the priest have to ask that?_ Joe knew what Kathy's next move was going to be, and it was exactly what he didn't want.

A wicked smile spread over Kathy's face. "Yes. Her." She pointed at Emily.

"No," Joe said firmly.

"I say, 'yes.'" Kathy leaned into him. "She's not out of range where she's standing, if you get my drift."

Joe noticed the calculating look in her icy eyes and nodded. "Stand behind her, Em."

"Oh, no, Emily," Kathy said, reaching out for Emily with her left hand as she approached. "You stand right here close to me. I don't want you to miss a minute of the ceremony."

Joe caught Frank's eye when he reached his side and made a gun sign with his thumb and forefinger, then touched his side pocket. Frank nodded.

"All right then, if everyone is in place, the ceremony can begin," Father Xavier said, casting a look toward Frank and Joe.

The priest motioned for Guillaume to stand next to him at the altar.

"I have some urgent business to attend to in my office, but I leave you in the very capable hands of...er...Father Guillaume."

"Wait," Kathy said. "Why can't you perform the ceremony?"

"I'm a visiting priest from France. I'm not allowed to perform marriages in Switzerland until my transfer papers are complete," Father Xavier said. "You do want this ceremony to be legal, do you not?"

"Yes." Kathy waved at Guillaume. "Go ahead. But I don't want you to leave the cathedral, Father."

Father Xavier nodded. "I'll stand with the girls," he said, moving over to Bess and Nancy.

OOO

Father Xavier paused at Nancy's side and leaned in to whisper to her. "I'm going to need to go to confession. That was a complete lie."

And it was a great one, Nancy thought. This priest was a quick thinker.

"It was for a good cause, Father," Nancy assured him. "The Lord will understand."

"And I'm about to lie again, because I'm slipping out of the cathedral to meet the police and direct them here the moment they arrive. There's a 'priests only' entrance right behind this statue of St. Bernadette." Father Xavier stepped backwards. "Bless you, my children. I'm praying for your safety."

He made the sign of the cross over Bess and Nancy as he turned away.

"Think that counts if none of us are Catholic?" Bess asked.

"Guess we'll find out," Nancy said.

OOOoooOOO

Guillaume stepped nervously to the front of the altar and addressed Emily. "Parle-t-elle francais?"

"Non," she whispered.

Emily was terrified. The senator's daughter was flat-out crazy, and nothing was more dangerous than crazy. She sneaked a glance at Kathy. Her eyes were glassy and bright as they flitted around the cathedral. Emily knew she was nervous. And that meant the slightest thing could set her…and the gun…off.

Calm. Emily needed to stay calm. Kathy's grip on her arm was painful and she could feel her trembling. If only she didn't have that weapon. She glanced down and saw that Kathy was holding the gun in her right coat pocket. She had pushed it forward and was now aiming it across her body at Emily. If only Joe weren't on the other side of her. She thought Kathy could very easily be one of those "if I can't have him, nobody can" kind of girls and shoot Joe right on the spot, just for spite. She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed.

Guillaume smiled and opened his book to begin the ceremony. As soon as he began to speak in French, Kathy protested.

"Hey, I don't know what he's saying."

"He doesn't speak English," Joe said, his gaze firmly fixed on Kathy's pocket...and the gun.

"But I'm not going to understand him."

"We're in a foreign country," Frank reminded her. "I think you have to take what you can get."

"Fine. The license is legal. That's what important." Kathy waved her hand at Guillaume. "Go on."

Guillaume paused as he looked at his book. Then his gaze turned to Kathy and he spoke a flurry of French.

Emily's eyes grew wide. Guillaume wasn't reading the wedding ceremony, he was reciting a French nursery rhyme. She glanced up at him sharply and he gave her a subtle wink. Emily relaxed slightly as she heard Guillaume call Kathy a fat, red hen.

She heard Frank cough, and knew he understood what was going on, too. Guillaume finished speaking and looked at Kathy expectantly.

"Um, is this where I say, 'I do?'" she asked.

Guillaume nodded, waited for her affirmative answer, then turned to Joe, and recited a rhyme about a farmer and his missing donkey.

OOO

Joe shuffled his feet and looked at Emily. He knew this ceremony was a farce and that whatever happened here he would have annulled within the hour, but the pain he saw in Emily's eyes was overwhelming to him, nonetheless. He hated repeating this kind of vow to anyone else but her, even if it wasn't his choice. He swallowed hard and looked down at the pocket of Kathy's coat. The gun was pointed in Emily's direction.

"The priest is waiting, Joe," Kathy said.

Joe cleared his throat. "I–I do."

Guillaume nodded, then said something else in French and looked at both of them. Kathy turned to Emily.

"What did he say?"

"He wants you to hold hands," she whispered. "He has to pronounce a blessing on you to seal the marriage vows."

Frank gave Joe a warning nudge in his back to be ready.

Kathy released her grip on Emily's arm and faced Joe and, placing her left hand in his. Guillaume said something else in French.

"Both hands," Emily translated.

"I can't do that."

Emily repeated this to Guillaume, who shook his head.

"It has to be both hands," Emily insisted.

Kathy appeared flustered, and Joe took that second to seize her right arm.

"Emily, move!" he ordered.

Kathy struggled against Joe's grip as Frank rushed forward to try and restrain her.

Guillaume shoved Emily to the ground and fell on top of her just as the gun went off.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: **Huge thanks to BurnedSpy, max2013, Guest, Leya, zenfrodo, Caranath, Stork Hardy, Lady Emily, Future Animator, Chelle, Vinsmouse, Jackie, bhar and ILoveMom for reviewing! You're the best! Thanks also if you're reading!

Chapter 32

Nancy was standing on the side of the cathedral with Bess when the gun went off.

Her heart lurched in her chest.

Another round reverberated through the church.

Nancy leapt forward, running toward the altar…and Frank.

_Please let him be all right. Please let him be all right._

She saw Frank and Joe on the ground trying to subdue Kathy, but where was the weapon?

Nancy rushed over and scanned the ground, trying to spot the gun amid the tangle of writhing arms and legs. If Kathy still had it, and it went off at this range, whoever it hit could be killed instantly.

She scrambled around Frank and Joe, and a screaming Kathy, but still couldn't see anything.

Nancy stepped back, hoping that maybe the weapon had been kicked away, and noticed a large red streak across the altar steps.

Her stomach fell.

Blood.

Somebody was hurt.

OOO

Emily struggled against Guillaume who had her pinned down on the marble floor. She'd heard gunshots.

"Guillaume, please!"

Emily shoved him hard and he released his grip on her.

She heard Kathy wailing, but couldn't tell where Joe was.

Her eyes darted back and forth until she spotted him with Frank…on the floor of the cathedral.

"No," she whispered, scrambling to her feet.

Her pulse was thrumming in her ears as she made her way toward him.

He had to be okay.

OOO

Nancy saw Joe slide his leg forward to gain some leverage over Kathy, and a flash of metal caught her eye. The weapon was on the floor, right by Joe's knee.

She sprinted toward him, determined that she was going to get that gun out of Kathy's reach...no matter what.

As she approached them, she had to jump back twice to avoid Kathy's thrashing limbs. Maneuvering to get closer to the weapon, she stuck her foot into the pile, dragged the gun out with it, and kicked it as hard as she could.

It skittered across the marble floor, coming to rest under one of the pews.

Nancy breathed a small sigh of relief, but she still needed to find out who was injured.

"Frank?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.

He didn't reply.

Nancy dropped to her knees next to him, scanning what she could see of his body for blood stains.

Frank glanced at her as he pulled Kathy's arms behind her back and tried to hold her immobile. "Stay back, Nan."

"I got the gun."

He grunted as Kathy struggled against him. "Thanks, babe."

"Frank, I heard it go off. Is someone hurt? There's blood on the altar steps."

She meant to keep her voice calm, but she was pretty sure she sounded as frantic as she felt.

Before Frank could reply, Father Xavier burst in through the side door.

"What happened? I heard gunfire."

A scream from Kathy echoed throughout the cathedral and drowned out anything Frank might have said.

"It hurts! Somebody help me!"

Nancy put her hand on Frank's shoulder. "Honey, please! Are you injured?"

Frank gestured with his head toward Kathy. "She shot herself in the foot."

"I heard two shots," Nancy insisted.

"Yeah, one grazed me." Joe grunted, as he held Kathy's legs down firmly.

OOO

Panic washed over Emily.

Joe had been shot?

She rushed toward him, trying hard to swallow the fear welling up inside of her.

_Grazed. He said a bullet grazed him...not hit him. _

Guillaume pushed past her and tried to help Joe and Frank subdue Kathy.

Emily reached Joe's side at the moment he stepped away from Kathy. Guillaume had managed to successfully pin her to the floor.

Emily clutched Joe's arm. "You're hurt?"

Joe wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her into him, kissing the side of her head.

"Don't worry. It's not bad."

OOO

Kathy screamed again as Frank tried to gather her up in his arms. He grimaced and turned to Nancy.

"Can you help me, Nan? My thigh muscle isn't strong enough for this yet."

Guillaume nudged Frank and gestured toward Kathy.

"Thanks," Frank said with a smile as the candidate scooped her up and headed down the steps of the main altar.

Nancy supported Frank as he staggered to his feet. "Are you really okay?"

She was sure he had reinjured his muscle. And Kathy was to blame for that…again. She couldn't wait to get the senator's obnoxious daughter out of their lives for good.

"I'll be fine," Frank said. "For now, we need to get Kathy to the infirmary."

"We need to get her to the mental hospital," Bess muttered as she approached them.

Father Xavier ushered the party through the side door of the cathedral and down the hall to the infirmary. Guillaume deposited a writhing Kathy onto one of the cots, while Emily walked Joe over to the other one.

"Dr. Delacroix isn't here at the moment," Father Xavier explained as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "He takes care of the sisters at the Convent of the St. Sylvie in addition to the brethren in residence here. They're all elderly and need quite a bit of attention from him at times. He should be back momentarily though."

"I could bleed to death by then!" Kathy shouted.

"We should be so lucky," Bess hissed under her breath.

"You won't bleed to death." Nancy's voice was firm. "I've had first-aid training."

She walked over to the cot and removed Kathy's shoe. There was a small caliber bullet wound in the top of her foot. Nancy found she couldn't work up any sympathy at all for Kathy's predicament. As far as she was concerned, the spoiled little brat had gotten exactly what she deserved.

Kathy let out another wail and tried to push Nancy away.

Nancy grabbed her foot more firmly.

"Knock it off."

"It hurts!"

"Do I need to remind you that this was a self-inflicted wound?"

"I didn't mean to hit myself." Kathy turned cold eyes toward Emily who was fussing over Joe on the next cot. "I meant to hit her."

Nancy peeled Kathy's sock off none too gently.

"We'll be sure to mention that to the prosecutor when this goes to trial."

OOO

Emily ignored Kathy's ranting as she examined the bullet graze on Joe's leg. She'd had more than enough of the irritating little twit to last a lifetime. The only thing she was concerned about now was her boyfriend. She bent her head down to get a closer look at his thigh.

"It's nothing, babe," he said. "It barely scraped me."

"It's bleeding, Joe."

Emily slapped his hand away as she tried to pull the burned fabric of his jeans back from his injury to get a closer look. She sighed.

"Take your pants off."

A slow smile spread over Joe's face.

Emily gave him a warning look. "Stop it. I need to examine you."

"Aye, aye, Nurse Ratched," Joe teased, as he undid his belt.

Emily held a blanket over him as Joe slid his jeans down. She lifted it enough to scrutinize the injury to his thigh, then sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness it's not deep, but I'm going to have to clean it really well, and you'll probably need to get a couple of stitches."

"Be gentle with me," Joe said, trying to lighten her mood, as he lay back on the pillow, stacking his hands behind his head.

Emily rolled her eyes and walked to the other side of the room, where she met Nancy who was opening cabinets and gathering supplies.

"Is Joe okay?"

Emily picked up some gauze and smiled.

"Yes. He's being his usual snarky self, so I know he's not hurting too badly. Thank goodness."

"Well, Kathy has a bullet lodged in her foot, so she'll have surgery and a nice recovery ahead of her." Nancy paused as she opened a drawer. "Emily?"

Her friend turned quickly at the tone of Nancy's voice to find her holding out a small handful of plastic zip-ties.

"Why would a doctor need these?"

"I don't know," Emily said slowly. "But there must be a logical explanation."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy proceeded back over to Frank, who'd been standing guard over Kathy.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she approached.

"I don't know. Maybe nothing." Or maybe everything.

Nancy wasn't sure yet. Why would a doctor have zip ties? There had to be a medical reason for them.

She poured antiseptic on some gauze and hastily cleaned Kathy's wound. Kathy let out a shriek that made Bess cover her ears and move to the other side of the room. Kathy kicked at Nancy hard, nearly hitting her in the jaw.

Frank stood, leaned over the senator's daughter, and pressed her shoulders firmly into the cot.

"Settle your ass down!" he ordered. "She's trying to help you."

Nancy looked up at him. "I'll tell you later."

Father Xavier interrupted the proceedings, as he rushed into the room with Louis, two police officers and an EMT.

"Dr. Delacroix isn't back yet?"

"We haven't seen him," Frank commented.

Nancy covered Kathy's wound with gauze and secured it with first-aid tape, while more EMTs rolled in a gurney. The police officers moved toward the cot and flanked Kathy as Frank and Nancy stepped aside.

OOO

"What are they doing here?" Kathy wailed. She glared at Joe. "I thought you said you wouldn't tell anyone about this."

"That was before you held a gun on Emily," Joe said. "Kathy, you need help. Please let these people help you. Please."

Kathy's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Joe. It's not supposed to be like this. We're supposed to be together."

"You need help," Joe repeated in a gentle tone of voice. "And I understand. I really do."

She had serious problems. Problems that she might never even solve in this lifetime. Joe wasn't heartless. He did feel sympathy for her. But he also knew she needed to be in a secure environment where she could get some real help. Otherwise she'd just pull the same stunt again with some other poor sap. And he wouldn't wish the "Kathy Martin treatment" on his worst enemy.

The EMTs lifted a struggling Kathy onto the gurney, strapped her down, and began to push her out of the room.

Joe gestured for Louis. "Hey, be nice to her," he said as the senator's aide looked over at him.

Louis nodded, a troubled expression on his face, as he followed Kathy out of the room.

Emily finished bandaging Joe's thigh, then stepped back to survey her work.

"Well, I think you're going to make it. I can't believe Kathy actually pulled a gun on you."

He grinned at her. "I think that's why they call it a shotgun wedding, babe."

She threw the roll of gauze at his head.

OOO

Nancy smiled as Frank took her in his arms and held her close.

"Well, that's one mystery solved. Now, how about Joe and I help you with yours?"

"I would love nothing more," Nancy replied, leaning against his chest.

She closed her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying his strong embrace, and then pulled back suddenly.

"Wait a minute. I almost forgot."

She took Frank by the hand and led him over to the drawer where she'd found the gauze. She opened it and handed him the zip ties.

"What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "This might not mean anything."

"Or it might mean everything." Nancy said. "It could be where our abductor got the plastic ties he used on me and Emily."

"Are you suggesting it was Dr. Delacroix?"

"Think about it, Frank. Where in this monastery would Father Bertrand be without his keys?"

"A medical exam?"

"Bingo." Nancy began pacing the floor, as more ideas came to her. "Dr. Delacroix could have easily gotten the keys from him then, and either kept them and replaced them after he used them, or made copies."

Frank nodded. "We definitely need to check it out."

"No better time than the present."

Frank glanced around.

"File cabinet?"

"After you." Nancy held out her hand.

They began to walk toward the doctor's desk, when Guillaume crossed the room and filled a cup with water from the cooler next to the doctor's desk.

"Maybe we'd better postpone this until later," Frank whispered.

"I think we're going to have to," Nancy said.

She was frustrated. With Kathy out of the way, she could finally work with Frank and focus solely on her case. She didn't want anything or anyone else getting in her way.

"Don't worry." Frank slipped his arm around her waist. "We'll get it done. Might I suggest a midnight rendezvous?"

"You, me and a filing cabinet?" She leaned in to kiss him. "Sounds romantic."

OOOoooOOO

Joe looked up as Guillaume, paper cup in hand, strolled across the room and approached his cot. He handed it to Joe.

"Thanks," Joe said.

Before Guillaume could reply, Emily visibly startled him by flinging her arms around the young candidate's neck and hugging him.

"Oh, Guillaume, merci. Merci beaucoup. Vous êtes merveilleux!"

Guillaume blushed from head to toe, but held Emily tightly to him.

_A little too tightly,_ Joe thought, as he took a sip of water.

He watched as Guillaume involuntarily closed his eyes and buried his face in Emily's hair for a moment. Guillaume stepped away from her. Emily turned to Joe.

"Do you know what he did? He stood in front of you and Kathy and recited French nursery rhymes instead of the wedding ceremony. So in case it actually went all the way to the end, you wouldn't have exchanged any vows at all."

"Seriously?" Joe gave him a surprised smile. "Thanks. The last thing I wanted was for that to be a real ceremony."

"Well, you forgot the part about him not actually being a priest," Bess chimed in, as she approached the cot.

"Doesn't matter," Joe responded. "I didn't want there to be any loopholes. If we'd exchanged real vows in a church, even without a priest, it would probably mean something somewhere."

"I can't tell you how much better you made me feel," Emily said to Guillaume in French. "Thank you again for being so sweet."

Guillaume blushed, then leaned in and kissed Emily on the cheek.

Joe rolled his eyes. He'd just gotten rid of one crush gone wrong. He didn't want to have to deal with another.

Guillaume paused, looked to Emily, and said something in French.

"Um, sure. Go ahead." She put her arm on Joe's shoulder. "He wants to talk to you. Alone."

Joe shifted himself into a sitting position. "This should be interesting."

"Be nice," Emily whispered in his ear.

She stepped back from the cot and motioned for Bess, then walked over to Frank and Nancy.

Guillaume reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to Joe. "Please."

Joe took it, a questioning look on his face. He opened it up.

"Did you write this?"

Guillaume gestured to Bess, "She help me."

Joe scanned the paper. _Joe, I need to apologize to you. I'm afraid I have taken liberties with Emily. _

He looked up sharply. "Liberties?"

Guillaume nodded solemnly as Joe's eyes darkened and returned to the note in front of him.

_She is very beautiful, and I'm afraid my thoughts toward her became carnal in nature. It was very disrespectful to her, and to you, for me to think of her in this way, and I'm deeply sorry. Emily will be a wonderful wife to you someday. I will say that meeting her has answered many questions I've had about whether life in this monastery is right for me. I've discovered that I am probably better suited to life outside these walls, and someday hope to have a woman as lovely as the one you have found. Again, please accept my apologies for my inappropriate behavior. Guillaume. _

At the bottom of the page were a few sentences in Bess's handwriting.

_He's very sincere about this, Joe. He feels terrible for ogling Em. Don't hit him._

Joe almost burst out laughing. He glanced at Guillaume, who was twisting his hands in his robes and looking like he might be sick. Joe knew this was a serious breach of morality for an almost monk, and he pressed his lips together to suppress a smile. He would be serious and grant Guillaume the absolution he obviously felt he needed. But he was going to have so much fun with this later.

OOOoooOOO

Frank put his hand on Emily's arm as she and Bess reached him. He'd seen Joe unfolding some sort of letter and reading it. And his curiosity had gotten the best of him.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, we're just completing the de-frocking," Bess said with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Frank had no idea what she was talking about.

Bess gestured toward Guillaume with her head. "He's decided to leave the monastery."

"What?" Emily cried.

"Yeah, apparently you were too much for him, Em," Bess said. "His raging hormones wouldn't stop raging around you. You ruined him for monastic life."

"But, but..." Emily sputtered.

"He wrote Joe a note apologizing for all the lewd thoughts he's had about you," Bess continued. "He's reading it right now."

"Oh, this is going to be good," Frank said.

He turned to watch his brother, but was distracted by a nudge in his side from Nancy.

"Listen, keep an eye out for a minute. I'm going to search Delacroix's desk."

"Okay," Frank agreed. "I'll block you from view. Be careful, babe."

"Always," she said with a smile.

Frank watched as Nancy moved around the desk and slowly opened the top drawer. He positioned himself in front of her, making sure she was blocked from view, while he kept one eye on the door and the other on Joe.

OOOoooOOO

Joe sat the letter down on his lap and looked into Guillaume's anxious eyes.

"Hey, it's all right."

"Je suis désolé," Guillaume murmured.

"If that means, 'I'm sorry', forget about it. Really. I'm not upset." Joe reached for Guillaume's hand and shook it. "You're a good guy, Guillaume."

Guillaume smiled with relief. "Bien?"

"Très bien," Joe said with a grin, reciting the only French he knew with the exception of "merci" and "oui bébé".

Emily walked over to them and took Guillaume by the arm.

"I need to talk to him," she said to Joe.

She led Guillaume to the bench by the entrance to the infirmary. Joe watched as she spoke to him quietly. He smiled at her earnest expression, as he folded the note and put it in his shirt pocket.

_I am so teasing her about this later. _

OOOoooOOO

"Frank, look at this!"

Frank turned quickly at the urgent tone in his girlfriend's voice, and saw Nancy holding up a train ticket she found in the center drawer of Dr. Delacroix's desk.

He read the bold print across the front of it. "Engenbern? That's the name of the town we translated from that book."

"Yes," Nancy said, her eyes flashing and her smile wide. "And it's just outside of Usanne, the town where the Madonna statue was originally kept."

"And Delacroix is going there." Frank thought for a moment. "What's the date on that ticket?"

Nancy quickly scanned it. "Tomorrow. Ten a.m."

Frank smiled. "I think we need to be on that train."

"I think so, too."

Frank heard the door to the infirmary open, and he positioned himself in front of Nancy, as she hastily shoved the ticket back into the desk drawer and closed it.

Dr. Delacroix glared at them.

"What are you doing in my desk?"


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: **Thank you so much Caranath, BurnedSpy, Kenna, Stork Hardy, max2013, Guest, Jackie, zenfrodo, Guest, Future Animator, Lady Emily, Leya, bhar, and Vinsmouse for taking time to leave a review! They are so appreciated! Thank you also if you are reading!

Chapter 33

"What are you doing at my desk?"

Nancy looked up as Dr. Delacroix strode toward her, an angry expression on his face.

She hastily reached for a medical book, sandwiched between a pair of bookends.

"Are you searching through my things?"

She stared the doctor straight in the eyes as he approached.

"You weren't here, so we were trying to find a medical manual. Joe's been shot."

"Shot?" Dr. Delacroix spun around to look at Joe, who was still resting on the cot.

Nancy breathed out a sigh of relief as the doctor hurried to Joe's side.

"Who shot you? Where?"

"Kathy Martin, and by where, I'm going to assume you mean 'where on my body', but I'll answer it both ways. In my leg and in the cathedral."

"The senator's daughter, in the cathedral, with the revolver," Bess quipped. "I win."

Frank laughed, and Nancy rolled her eyes as they made their way toward Joe.

"Emily patched him up, but we weren't sure what else we should do. We thought we might find some information in the books over there," Nancy offered, hoping the doctor would accept her explanation.

"Sorry, I was at the convent. One of the sisters fell, and I needed to be sure she was all right before I left," Dr. Delacroix explained, as he removed the dressings Emily had placed on Joe's wound.

"Is he going to be okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes. For a gunshot wound, he's extremely lucky. She just grazed you." The doctor moved to the other side of the room and began collecting supplies. "Let me clean it out a little more, give you a stitch or two, and then you can be on your way."

"Sounds great. I've had enough of this place." Joe glanced at the doctor as he returned to his side. "No offense."

"None taken." Doctor Delacroix smiled. As he clicked on the bedside light and examined Joe's injury more closely, he said, "Now, does somebody want to explain why on earth Senator Martin's daughter would be discharging a weapon inside the cathedral?"

OOOoooOOO

Two hours later, after Joe had received a couple stitches, and they'd given their statements to a local police officer, Frank, Joe, Nancy, Emily and Bess gathered in the monastery foyer to wait for Father Xavier.

Frank put his arm around Nancy and pulled her close. He was relieved that this whole nightmare with Kathy Martin was over. Now he could concentrate on Nancy's case and be there to protect her…whether she liked it or not. He kissed the side of her head, then looked across the room as Father Xavier entered.

The priest raised his hands then dropped them down helplessly. "I'm so sorry that your experiences in this cathedral and monastery have all been such unpleasant ones. It shouldn't be that way in a house of God."

Nancy touched him gently on the arm. "Father Xavier, please don't worry about that. We're here to help you solve your problems."

"And besides," Joe inserted, "this is all in a day's work for us."

"Getting shot?" the priest asked. "That's normal for you?"

"Well, actually, we get kidnapped more than we get shot," Joe said with a grin. "But it's probably in second or third place."

Father Xavier pressed his hand over his heart. "Goodness gracious."

"How is Father Bertrand doing?" Emily asked.

"He's still in a coma," Father Xavier said. "Medically induced. The doctors want him to rest completely to allow the swelling in his brain to go down more. But they're very optimistic about his prognosis."

"Did Father Bertrand spend much time in the infirmary here? Had he been sick recently?" Frank wanted to know.

He'd thought about asking that question of Dr. Delacroix, but if the man was behind any of the thefts, it might arouse his suspicions. And there was no way he was going to put Nancy in more danger than she already was.

"Not that I can recall," Father Xavier said. "Oh, wait. Yes, he was in the infirmary about three weeks ago. He's diabetic and sometimes he has a hard time keeping his blood sugar levels where they need to be. Dr. Delacroix had him stay there for a couple of days so that he could put him on an IV and adjust his medication."

Nancy nudged Frank as she smiled at the priest. "Well, I'm glad he's in a regular hospital now."

"Yes, they're doing all they can for him."

"If you don't mind, Father, I think we'd better head back to the hotel now," Frank said, reaching out to shake the priest's hand. "We still have to tie up some loose ends with Senator Martin and his daughter."

Father Xavier made some sympathetic clucking noises as he opened the front door for them. "Yes, that poor girl. I do hope she can get the help she needs. Tell the senator we'll be praying for her."

"We will," Frank assured him with a smile. "And thank you."

As Father Xavier closed the heavy wooden door to the monastery, Frank grabbed onto the sleeve of his brother's ski jacket.

"I need you and Emily to take the train to Usanne tonight. Nan and I will wrap things up here with Kathy's case, and then catch the first train tomorrow morning and meet you there. Unless my gut feeling is wrong...that's where we'll find the answers we need to solve this monastery case."

OOOoooOOO

Joe adjusted his and Emily's suitcases in his arms as he followed her up the steps of the train car. He read the numbers painted on the wall in front of him.

"To the left. Our room should be the third one down." He turned sideways as he tried to negotiate the hallway. "Wow, this is narrow."

Emily shifted her shoulder bag and moved the key for their sleeping compartment to her right hand.

"Yep, here it is." Emily opened the door and stepped into the sleeper car. "This is going to be cozy."

Joe filled the doorframe behind her. "No kidding. I think it's going to either be us or the luggage, babe. Who gets the bed?"

She laughed. "There's an overhead storage shelf, silly. Come in all the way and you'll see it."

Joe cocked his head. "If you want me to go in there, I think you're going to have to wait in the hall. There's no way we're both going to fit."

Emily climbed on top of the seat that would fold out to their bed.

"You can fit now."

Joe set one suitcase on the floor and lifted the other above his head, poised to place it on the shelf.

"Are you going to want something out of here tonight?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. Exactly five minutes after you put it up there."

"You wouldn't dare." Joe grunted as he shoved the suitcase into place in the netted storage area.

She giggled. "No, I think I have everything I need for tonight in my carry-on. Oh, except for pajamas."

Joe grinned at her. "You won't need those."

Emily reached out and poked him gently in the ribs as he was hefting the second suitcase over his head. "Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you, mister?"

Joe squirmed at the tickling sensation and managed to toss the luggage just hard enough to send it flying into the bin. He turned and reached for Emily, quickly pulling her against him.

"Yep, I'm very sure of myself. I was shot tonight, remember? You're going to need to make it all better for me."

Emily's eyes clouded. "Of course I remember. My heart was in my throat when I heard that gun go off. Oh Joe, I was sure you were–"

He cut her off by placing two fingers across her lips.

"Shh, stop. Everything's okay now. I didn't get hurt. And more importantly, you didn't get hurt."

"You did get hurt," Emily countered.

"This?" Joe gestured toward his thigh. "This is nothing."

Emily gave him a sly smile. "Oh, well, if it's nothing, you won't need me to kiss it better for you."

She turned to her overnight bag and began removing toiletries.

"That's not what I meant." He came up behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck. "Hey, did you just do that on purpose?"

"No. You fell right into it and I couldn't resist." She giggled as Joe's lips moved toward her collar bone.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He turned her in his arms. "But I meant what I said. There was no way I was going to let Kathy hurt you."

Emily sighed and rested her head on Joe's shoulder, hugging him tightly around the waist.

"What do you think will happen to her?"

He kissed the top of her head lightly.

"I don't know. It's complicated. I don't intend to press charges, but I have no idea what the international laws are on something like this. It did happen in a church...maybe that 'sanctuary' loophole applies."

"I hope she can get some psychiatric help." Emily's voice was muffled against Joe's chest. "That's what she really needs."

"I'm sure her father will take care of that." He leaned back slightly and tilted Emily's chin up with his finger so he could look into her eyes. "But let's not worry about Kathy anymore. She's taken up enough of our time, wouldn't you say?"

"Definitely."

"Good. Then let's get this bed thing figured out so we can finally spend some time together." He bent his head and kissed her lips gently. "I've missed you."

OOOoooOOO

Bess flopped backwards on a sofa in the hotel suite, across from the couch Frank and Nancy were seated on.

"Well, that was one of the most entertaining evenings I've had in a long time. Let's see the last time I had this much excitement in one night was...um...also when I was with Nancy and the Hardy brothers. What a coincidence. We were in Transylvania, I believe. Catacombs, vampires, all that good stuff."

"Even Count Dracula himself, if we believe Joe," Nancy chimed in.

Bess threw a sofa pillow in their direction, which Frank caught neatly in one hand.

"Honestly, what is it with you three?" Bess asked. "Can't you just have a normal case for once?"

Frank chuckled and tossed the pillow back in Bess's direction.

"Apparently not."

"And it's not over yet," Nancy reminded her as she snuggled under Frank's outstretched arm. "We still haven't found the monstrance and the statue."

"Do you really think Dr. Delacroix could be behind this?" Bess asked.

"Not sure yet, although he does fit the characteristics we were looking for in a suspect." Nancy lifted her eyes to Frank. "What do you think?"

"I think we need to check into his background." Frank looked at his wristwatch. "In fact, let me give Dad a call now. He probably won't be able to get back to us until tomorrow with the facts, but at least he can get started phoning his contacts."

Nancy slid her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"That's going to require you to move, isn't it?"

"Unless you have another way for me to reach the phone across the room, yes." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

At that moment the door to the suite opened and Lauren and Tammy stepped inside.

"Uh, oh," Bess whispered. "Forgot about them."

OOOoooOOO

"You know what?" Joe asked, as he finished converting the seat in the sleeper car into a bed.

Emily unfolded one of the sheets and began tucking it in around the mattress.

"What?"

"I don't think I've ever slept on a train."

"Really? With all the places you've been?"

Joe helped her spread out the top sheet.

"Well, I've slept on trains, just not in this kind of car." He glanced around at the molded plastic cabinets, sink and storage areas. "Are you sure this isn't part of some old airplane fuselage?"

"That's exactly what it looks like," Emily said, as she handed Joe a blanket.

He wrinkled his nose. "It's kind of what it smells like, too."

Emily giggled, then lurched forward as the train began to move. Joe reached out to steady her, pulling her against him tightly.

"Careful," he said in a low voice near her ear.

She shivered and playfully pushed him away. "The conductor's going to be here in a few minutes for the tickets."

"I can reach the door from the bed," he teased.

"Not a chance, buster," she said with a giggle.

She fished out the tickets from her carry-on, just as a knock sounded on the door of the compartment.

Joe took them from her and opened the door to hand them to the conductor. As the conductor punched the tickets, Joe looked absently down the hallway, then did a double take. Simone? Could that really be her? Joe startled as the conductor handed the tickets back to him.

"Bon voyage, Monsieur."

"Yeah, thanks," Joe replied absently. He closed the door and turned to Emily. "Honey? I need to go check something out for a minute. Stay here, okay?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"When the conductor was punching our tickets, I thought I saw Simone at the end of the hall."

"Isn't she back in St. Sylvie taking care of Kathy?"

Joe shook his head. "I don't know. I only saw the back of her head, so I'm probably mistaken, but I don't want to take that chance." He leaned in and kissed her quickly. "You stay here and don't open the door for anyone, understand? I have a key, so if someone knocks, it isn't me."

"Can I come with you?"

"No, if it is her, she's more likely to recognize both of us."

"Okay." Emily had a worried look on her face. "Be careful."

"I will."

Joe slipped through the compartment door, making sure it was securely locked before he headed down the corridor.

OOOoooOOO

"Hi, there," Bess said brightly as Tammy and Lauren entered the living room.

This could be interesting. How on earth were they going to break it to these girls that their friend had snapped and was on her way to jail via the funny farm?

"Where's Kathy?" Tammy asked.

Frank cleared his throat as he moved his arm from around Nancy's shoulders and stood.

"Well, there was some trouble earlier." He looked past the girls. "Where's Simone?"

"Um, she got paged from the restaurant about twenty minutes ago," Lauren said with a shrug. "She said she had to leave immediately and that we should go upstairs to the room when we finished eating."

Frank looked at Nancy. "Must have been Louis."

As Nancy nodded, Tammy crossed her arms in front of her. "Would somebody mind explaining exactly what's going on here?"

"Yeah, maybe that would be best." Frank sighed.

Bess stood and gestured to the sofa. "Have a seat. This may take a while. I'll get refreshments."

She strolled over to the bar and grabbed a bag of pretzels and some soda pop. Yep, this was going to be good.

OOOoooOOO

Joe slid open the door of the train car and walked down the corridor toward his sleeping compartment. He hadn't been able to find the woman he thought was Simone, or anyone else that looked like her, so he thought he must have been mistaken. Just in case though, he was planning on getting a good look at all the passengers when they disembarked in the morning. If Simone was on this train, Joe would find her.

He unlocked the door to his compartment and stepped inside to be greeted by...silence.

"Emily?"

There was no answer. Where could she be? Joe had told her not to leave, and he didn't think she would have. At least not voluntarily.

He glanced around. She was clearly not in the room and there wasn't that much of it to search. He opened the slim closet door next to the bed and found nothing. He scrambled over the mattress to another door he'd spotted earlier. Assuming it was another closet, he flung it open wide.

OOO

Emily screamed as the door to the bathroom, similar to the bathroom in an RV, which housed both the toilet and shower in the same small space, flew open. She was shampooing her hair and now struggled to see through the suds covering her eyes. She slipped on the wet floor and felt someone jumping in to break her fall. She struggled against the man holding her until she heard Joe's voice.

"Stop it, honey. It's me." Joe ducked to avoid her flailing fists. "Em, it's me, baby."

She wiped the soap from her face and stared at her boyfriend, standing in front of her, fully clothed and soaking wet.

"Wh-what are you doing? Are you insane?" She looked beyond him. "Shut the door! You're getting everything all wet."

Joe reached backwards and closed the shower door, trapping the two of them under the spray. He looked at her and began laughing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, honey. I came in the room and I couldn't find you. I thought this was a closet. I didn't mean to scare you."

Emily couldn't fight back the smile that was beginning to turn up the corners of her mouth. Joe was drenched. His clothes were stuck to him; his hair plastered to his head. He had his shoes on for heaven sake. She began laughing, and swiping some soap suds from her hair, dabbed them on the tip of his nose.

"You are such a nut."

He pulled her into him, causing her to squeal. "That's why you love me."

"Oh, is that why?" she teased. "Thanks for clearing that up. Some days I'm not quite sure."

He laughed and kissed her under the spray, letting the soap rinse out of her hair and over both of them.

"You know," she breathed, when they broke apart. "Most people take their clothes off before they get in the shower."

"Yours are off," Joe said, raising an eyebrow as he ran his hands along her bare back and down to the curve of her bottom.

"Which puts me at a distinct disadvantage."

"That depends on how you look at it." Joe backed her up against the shower wall and kissed her deeply. "I like it."

She giggled and stared down at his sodden shoes. "I don't think this is going to work."

She reached for the nozzle and turned off the steady stream flowing down on them. Twisting her hair to squeeze out the excess water, she opened the door handle and grabbed her towel. She dried off quickly, then wrapped her hair and stepped outside to put on her fluffy, white, terry-cloth robe.

"No fair," Joe protested, from his position on the closed toilet seat, where he sat, struggling to untie his wet shoelaces.

Emily rolled her eyes and went to help him, bracing herself against the shower wall as she pulled off first one shoe and then the other for him.

"Now for your clothes."

Joe grinned as he removed his shirt and handed it to her.

"Pants," she ordered.

He unbuttoned his sodden jeans. "You know, babe, this would be much better if you hadn't put that robe on."

She ignored his comment and gave him a concerned look.

"Isn't taking off your wet jeans going to hurt your leg?"

"You mean the gunshot wound you won't kiss and make better?"

"Joe, stop it. I'm worried. I don't want it to start bleeding again, and denim can be hard to remove when it's wet."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, trying to ease down the fabric over his hips.

Emily bit her lip as she watched him.

"Do you need my help?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

She swiped at him playfully as he lowered his pants to his thighs. His expression turned to one of pain as he reached the point of his injury and he gasped out loud.

"Joe!" she shrieked, reaching for him. "Oh, I knew it. Are you hurt?"

"Just kidding," he said, a huge smile on his face as he slid his jeans down to his ankles.

"Ooooh!"

Emily frowned and gave him a little shove, sending him into the shower wall and then forcing him to sit down hard on the toilet seat.

"That was mean, you stinker."

Joe laughed as he pulled off his jeans completely. "I'm sorry, honey, I just couldn't resist."

Emily gave him a teasing grin. "Oh, yeah, well, that's too bad. Because I can resist."

She stepped into the bedroom, threw Joe a towel, and shut the shower door without saying another word.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: **Thank you so much, Caranath, BurnedSpy, max2013, zenfrodo, Kenna, Jackie, Vinsmouse, Future Animator, ILoveMom and Stork Hardy for taking time to comment! I truly appreciate it. There will be a bit of a break before I post the next chapter, as I'm headed out the door on vacation...without any technology along for the ride. LOL I hope to start reposting on Monday, April 8th. And from that point on, it'll be full speed ahead to the end of the story! Thanks for sticking with it! A bit of a fluffy chapter today, because our heroes needed a break. ;) Thanks again to those reading!

Chapter 34

Frank glanced around the suite at the puzzled faces of Kathy's friends as he tried to explain the events of the evening to them. There was just no easy way to tell them that their friend was a total nut job. He cleared his throat.

"So, to make a long story short...er, shorter...Kathy ended up taking Joe to the cathedral at gunpoint to try and force him to marry her. She shot herself in the foot by mistake, and she's now at the local hospital with Louis."

Tammy shifted in her chair. "Okay, so Joe isn't Kathy's boyfriend?"

"Never was," Nancy spoke up.

"And Kathy planned all this...the stalking, the notes, the bonk on the head...to try and get Joe to like her?"

"Apparently." Nancy leaned back into the couch. "I'm not sure you can blame her though. Clearly there are some psychiatric issues at play here."

"I figured Joe wasn't that into her. It was so obvious." Lauren caught Frank's eye. "Does that mean he's available?"

Frank shook his head in disbelief. This girl never gave up. He wondered if all teenage girls were like this, or if it was a recent phenomenon. He didn't remember any of the girls he knew in high school being so boy crazy. Maybe he was naïve. Or maybe they just weren't boy crazy for him.

"Uh, no. He's actually very involved with Emily."

Tammy sat up straight in her chair.

"I knew it!" She glanced over at Lauren with a smug smile on her face. "What did I tell you? I was right. I won."

"You won what?" Nancy asked.

Tammy waved her hand dismissively. "Just a little bet we had. I told Lauren that Joe and Emily were secretly together, but she didn't think so. She doesn't have a knack for these things like I do. I can spot a couple a mile away. Whether they want to be spotted or not. There's just this look that guys get."

And exactly what kind of look _was_ that? Frank wondered. Obviously women discussed things with each other that never even registered on the radar of men. He would definitely be asking Nancy about all of this later on. But right now, he wanted to wrap up this case.

"Aren't you even the least bit concerned about Kathy?"

"No. Why?" Lauren shrugged. "This isn't the first time she's done something like this."

"It's not?" Nancy's eyes grew big.

"It's not even the second time." She turned to Tammy and laughed. "Remember, Mr. O'Brien? Our history teacher? She had us all believing there was something going on between them."

"Oh, yeah. That was ridiculous." Tammy looked at Nancy. "Of course her cover was blown when we met Mr. O'Brien's true paramour...Rick."

"And then there was this intern that worked for her dad," Lauren said. "She made his life miserable for an entire semester."

"Wait, so this isn't a surprise to you?" Frank clarified.

Because if he'd known all this in the beginning he never would have taken this case at all. He was starting to think that maybe the senator was living in a deep state of denial about his daughter. No wonder Louis drank.

"Nope." Tammy stood and walked to the bar, picking up a soda that Bess had poured. "Well, it's the first time she's shot herself, but other than that...same old, same old."

Frank and Nancy exchanged looks of disbelief while Bess leaned toward Tammy. "So, this thing you have for being able to tell if a guy likes a girl? Does it work with everyone?"

Tammy smiled and looked back at Frank.

"Well, it's written all over his face. He's obviously in love with Nancy."

Frank flushed and bent his head. Tonight was just full of interesting revelations. Apparently he was completely transparent to women. Swell.

Bess reached for the phone. "I'm calling Lars. I need to you to take a really good look at us together."

OOOoooOOO

Emily peered up over the edge of her magazine as Joe stepped out of the tiny shower compartment, a towel slung low around his hips and his hair still damp.

He sauntered past her and reached for his suitcase in the overhead bin, flexing his muscles and turning as he brought it down to the ground. She managed to keep her expression impassive, in spite of his very cute rear end.

He rummaged through his belongings, pulling out a pair of boxers.

"I'm still too wet to get dressed. I guess I'll wait for a while."

"Mmmm, yeah. That's probably a good idea."

Emily flipped through the travel magazine the railroad had left in their compartment, trying to appear nonchalant.

Joe allowed his towel to slip lower on his hips as he lifted his duffel bag back onto the overhead shelf.

"Did you want anything in your suitcase?"

"No, I'm fine."

She couldn't help smiling then, when she found herself at eye level with his taut abdominal muscles. Her eyes moved over them to the trail of dark blond hair that stretched from his navel until it disappeared under the edge of his towel. Her breath hitched. She cleared her throat to try and disguise it.

"Hey, you never told me what happened when you left the compartment. Was that Simone you saw?"

Joe moved over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"No, I must have been mistaken. I searched the entire train, and I didn't see anyone who even fit her description, let alone her."

"Maybe she went straight to a sleeper car like we did."

He shrugged. "Maybe. I'm sure as hell going to check every passenger who exits this train tomorrow when we pull into the station."

"But do you really think she would be on this train after what happened with Kathy? Wouldn't the senator want her to stay in the hospital with his daughter until he could get there?"

"Well, you'd think so, but who knows. And this train is headed to the same town we found information about in Simone's coded French novel."

Emily set the magazine aside. "Yes, but I'm still having a hard time believing she had anything to do with what happened in the monastery. After we stop in Usanne, the train continues into Paris. I mean, if she is on board, who's to say that she's not just taking it to its final destination. She might want to get some things for Kathy while she's in the hospital."

"That's possible," Joe allowed. "Although I can't imagine she would take such a roundabout route to Paris. I guess we'll just have to see tomorrow."

"So that means we'll have to get up early, huh?"

Joe shrugged. "The train doesn't pull into the station until nine-thirty."

He leaned back on the pillows and stacked his hands underneath his head, while Emily shifted to make more room for him on the small bed.

"The railroad's idea of a double berth is significantly smaller than my idea," she said.

He grinned at her. "We're going to be cozy, that's for sure."

Emily leaned over and brushed a still damp wisp of his hair off his forehead.

"Is that a problem?"

"You have to ask?" Joe ran his hand up and down her arm. "I still think you're too far away."

She moved again and her robe slipped from her shoulder. Joe frowned as he caught a glimpse of her bruise.

"Let me see, baby."

He turned her gently and surveyed her upper back which had now turned every color of the rainbow, but mostly green and yellow. He ran his hand over her skin. "Does this hurt?"

She leaned over him to turn off the light. "No, not unless you press on it. I still can't lie on my back though."

Joe grinned and reached for her, pulling her on top of him so that she straddled his hips while he untied her robe.

"That's okay. This works for me."

OOO

Emily giggled and shifted her weight, adjusting herself against him. Joe tried to hide a grimace as she brushed over his wound, but he could tell she'd noticed.

"You weren't teasing me that time, were you?" She slid away from him. "Honey, you're hurt and I don't think–"

"No, it's fine."

Joe turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Emily, spooning her into him. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent.

All the love, tenderness, and desire he'd been forced to keep bottled up inside him since his case began, bubbled over into an overwhelming need to hold her, touch her, and keep her as close to him as he could.

Joe turned her toward him, and she parted her lips and slid her hands over his shoulders. He closed his eyes and groaned as she placed gentle kisses along his jaw.

"I've missed you so much, Joe."

He pushed her robe open and pulled her against him, a shudder of pure bliss running through him at the feel of her soft, warm skin meeting his. He held her there, kissing the top of her head lightly.

"I missed this. I missed us."

Emily tilted her head and Joe brought his lips to hers tenderly. He moaned low as she threaded her fingers through his hair. Joe tasted her with slow, openmouthed kisses, savoring what he'd been starving for over the past few weeks.

Pulling away, he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. The moonlight shone through the window of their sleeper car, spilling across their pillows. Joe stared into the green eyes of the woman he loved and his heart swelled in his chest. He watched as she caught his hand and kissed his open palm. Joe swallowed hard and he brought her toward him again.

"I am so glad this case of mine is over."

"Me too," she whispered, running her hands down his arms. "Just think, you would have been spending the first night of your honeymoon with Kathy right now if we hadn't managed to rescue you in time."

And there was the bucket of ice water.

Joe looked at his girlfriend's sly smile and laughed.

"Thanks for that, you little mood killer."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist."

Joe chuckled, pulled her in close, and tickled her ribs. Emily squealed as she struggled to get away from him in the small space.

"I'm sorry! Joe, please!"

"This is payback for all those smartass comments you made to Kathy in the suite, too," he said. "What were you trying to do? Make me into the Hugh Hefner of Bayport?"

"Well, if the silk bathrobe fits…"

Joe grinned at her wickedly. "Fine. Two can play that game. I'll show you exactly how I earned my 'amazing in bed' reputation right now."

Emily's eyes twinkled. "I already know how you got that. But between our injuries and the limited amount of space here, we're going to have to be...creative."

Joe arched an eyebrow. "I consider us pretty 'creative' anyway. This will just be an extra challenge."

As Emily's hand slid to his navel and below, Joe groaned deeply and his hold on her tightened.

She smiled. "I accept your challenge."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy walked over to the bar and poured herself a ginger ale.

"Want one?"

"Sure." Frank slid onto a bar stool. "Hey, with Bess out for the evening with the girls, it looks like we might have this place to ourselves."

Nancy smiled up at him as she filled a glass with ice. He was so incredibly handsome. She thought she was just about the luckiest girl on earth. Frank Hardy was all hers.

"Yes, it does."

"How does a nice romantic evening in front of the fireplace sound?"

"It sounds wonderful." She handed him his ginger ale. "I do think Bess and the girls will be back in a few hours though."

Frank sipped his drink. "Yes, but we'll be in bed by then."

"Oh, will we?"

"Mmm, hmm." He set his glass down on the bar, stepped behind it, and pulled Nancy into his arms. "I know that for a fact, because I cannot seem to keep my hands off you."

Nancy closed her eyes as Frank held her and sighed. "You'll hear no objection from me."

"Spoken like the daughter of an attorney."

Frank's laugh rumbled low in his chest and Nancy smiled at the comforting sound of it.

He tilted her chin up. "I also can't seem to keep my mouth off you."

"Mmm, that sounds promising," she whispered as he brought his lips to her and kissed her, softly at first, then deeply.

Frank groaned and he pushed her up against the bar as the kiss intensified.

Nancy melted into his strong body. His muscles flexed in his arms and shoulders as he ran his hands up and down her back.

"Frank?" she whispered as he broke the kiss and moved his mouth to her neck.

"Hmm?"

"Can we just skip that fireplace part and go right to bed?"

"How about we skip the bed part and stay right here?"

He lifted her up onto bar and Nancy bent her head to cover his mouth with hers. His kisses were hot, wet, and aggressive, and she knew she was a goner. In a minute, she wouldn't remember her own name.

Frank slid his hands under her turtleneck and Nancy arched into him while she reached for the buttons of his shirt. She wanted nothing between that rock hard chest of his and her hands. She managed to get most of his shirt buttons undone, when she thought she heard something.

Frank's hands stilled and Nancy moaned in protest. He took a step backwards, and the rush of cold air hitting her warm skin jolted her back into reality.

They weren't alone.

She looked up to find Louis standing in the living room.

Great.

Some detective she was. The senator's aide had managed to unlock the door and enter the suite without her even knowing it.

That's what happened when your partner was sex on a stick.

Louis nodded in their direction and Nancy scrambled to straighten her appearance.

"Sorry for the interruption. I need to get some of Kathy's things."

Nancy wiped her hand across her lips and took a deep breath to steady herself. She was mortified. Frank had almost had her sweater completely off. Nancy shifted her position. Crap. Her bra was undone. Maybe Louis wouldn't notice. Yeah. Right.

Louis chuckled. "Don't look so embarrassed. I work in Washington, remember?"

"Um didn't Simone bring Kathy anything?" Nancy asked, eager to change the subject.

"Simone?" Louis looked confused. "I haven't seen Simone since Kathy had her breakdown. I don't even think she knows about it."

Frank ran his fingers through his hair to comb it, and Nancy couldn't help thinking how sexy that little gesture was. Damn Louis for interrupting.

"You mean you didn't page her at the restaurant tonight to tell her what happened?" Frank asked.

"No, I've been a little tied up at the hospital and on the phone with the senator."

"Oh. The girls mentioned that Simone had gotten a phone call and said she had to leave," Nancy said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, maybe the senator called her. I don't know." He sighed and looked at Nancy. "Listen, I have no idea what she might need at the hospital. Could you help me out?"

"Sure," Nancy agreed. "Why don't you grab a suitcase out of the hall closet and I'll meet you in her bedroom."

Louis nodded and rounded the corner.

Nancy turned her back to Frank and lifted her turtleneck. "You need to fix this."

Frank slid his hands onto her ribs and then up over her breasts. He bent forward and whispered in her ear. "That's not what I had in mind."

Nancy's legs felt like wet noodles as she leaned against him. Her mind was going hazy. "Frank…"

He chuckled, adjusted her bra, and secured the closure for her.

A wave of disappointment washed over Nancy as she stepped away from him.

Frank kissed her then ran his thumb over her lower lip. "We will pick up exactly where we left off as soon as you get Louis out of here."

Nancy nodded, still too flustered to speak, and headed toward Kathy's bedroom.

She was about to set the world record time for packing a suitcase.

**A/N: **See you Monday, April 8th!


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your reviews, max2013, pen4lew, Caranath, Guest, BurnedSpy, zenfrodo, Guest, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Vinsmouse, Kenna, Chelle, heawee, Leya, Guest and Kirsty! Vacation was awesome, but it's great to be back! And now...full speed ahead with the mystery.

Chapter 35

"So, what are your theories on this monastery mess?"

Frank leaned back in his chair in the train's dining car the next morning, and smiled at Nancy and Bess. He loved discussing cases with Nancy. Talking through the clues and trying to figure out how to piece everything together was one of his favorite things about working with her.

Nancy picked up a piece of her croissant from the table and buttered it. "I don't know. I have so much running through my mind, I can't seem to sort it all out."

"Well, I think we can safely say that this was an inside job," Frank said, as he reached for his orange juice.

"Definitely. And Dr. Delacroix is at the top of my suspect list at the moment."

"I agree." Frank smiled as the waitress placed a plate of Eggs Benedict in front of him.

"But why?" Bess asked. "What's his motivation?"

"Well, it must have something to do with the group trying to get the statue back to Usanne," Nancy said. "We just have to figure out what."

"Hopefully we can get some answers in the town," Frank said. "Maybe the local church or someone in their government might know something."

Because if there was a group intent on rebuilding the ancient cathedral, Frank knew there were people living there who had definite opinions about it. Especially if it was garnering news coverage.

"So that's why we're on this train at the freaking crack of dawn?" Bess asked. "Is anybody even going to be awake in this town when we get there?"

Frank laughed as he reached for the salt and pepper. "Sorry, Bess. But we had to beat Dr. Delacroix, and this was the only train that left the station before his."

"What if he sleeps in and misses his train? Did you ever think about that?" Bess asked, snatching a cheese danish off the platter in the middle of the table

"Never fear, Bess. There will still be plenty of investigating for us to do," Nancy said.

"Well, maybe for you two. I'm only staying until I can catch the train to Three Valleys and watch Lars at his ski competition." Bess gave a dimpled smile. "It promises to be a very romantic weekend."

Nancy shook her head. "So I take that to mean that I'll just see you back in River Heights whenever you get there?"

"Yep. If I'm lucky, I may spend the rest of the winter right here in Europe." Bess licked some frosting off her finger. "And I plan on being lucky."

"Don't you mean getting lucky?" Nancy asked.

"That, too."

Frank held up his hands. "Okay, I've heard enough. How about we get back to the case?"

Nancy leaned into Bess. "Girl talk makes him uncomfortable."

"Very," Frank agreed.

Especially Bess's girl talk. She could be very graphic. Another surprise for him about women. He had no idea their conversations about men could be so...detailed. He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, like I said, I think the local church or the town hall might be the way to go here. Or at least they can point us in the right direction."

"I think you're right, honey. Let's make that our first stop."

Frank took another sip of his orange juice. "I have a feeling that all the answers to this case will be found in Usanne. I can't explain it…I just know it."

Nancy smiled. "Dad would call that 'women's intuition.'"

"Then you must be rubbing off on me, Drew." Frank chuckled. "But could you go with the term 'gut feeling' in front of Joe?"

"I promise." She winked at him as she popped a strawberry into her mouth.

OOOoooOOO

Joe watched as the last passenger exited the train. A balding, middle-aged man. Definitely not Simone. He sighed and walked over to Emily, who was seated on the bench in the terminal.

"No sign of her. I must have been mistaken last night."

Emily stood. "I'm sorry. What should we do now?"

Joe looked around the station. "Well, I doubt we're going to find any clues in here. How about we check out the village?"

"Sounds good."

Joe took her hand as they made their way outside. He paused when they reached the town square. He felt like he'd stepped back in time.

The town was made up primarily of old stone buildings. Most of them looked like houses to Joe, judging by the flower boxes hanging from the shuttered windows. The cobblestone roads were narrow and winding, and Joe thought if he leaned out one window all the way, he just might be able to touch the house across the street.

Emily gave a little squeal of excitement as she looked around.

"Oh, Joe, this is so cute! Look how quaint everything is."

Quaint. He guessed that was good. Unfortunately, he didn't feel like they had much time for sightseeing. He squeezed her hand.

"Let's head this way. I thought I saw some shops in the distance. Maybe the proprietors could help us out."

"How about we find the church?" Emily suggested. "All of these small towns have one. Maybe the priest there can give us some insight into this whole 'rebuild the cathedral' movement."

And that was an even better idea.

"Sounds great, babe. Where is it?"

Emily glanced around. "Well, this place looks like it's set up like a typical medieval village. The church was usually in the center of town."

"Then let's head that way." Joe led her across the narrow cobblestone street toward the shops, and what he thought was the middle of town.

He smiled at his girlfriend as she walked along, exclaiming over stores, cafes and other town buildings. He made a mental note to spend a few days here after they wrapped up this monastery case. He loved seeing the happy look on her face.

Joe stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "Isn't that a steeple?"

Emily nodded. "I think you found it."

A few moments later, a white-washed stone building came into view. It looked like a small village church, not the large edifice Joe was expecting. As they walked under a stone archway, they found themselves in a courtyard with a winding pathway leading to the front steps of the building.

Joe turned to Emily. "I'm going to let you do all the talking."

Emily giggled. "Still haven't mastered French?"

"Not the language." Joe winked at her.

Emily shook her head as they hurried up the whitewashed stairs of the picturesque church and tried opening the door.

"It's locked," Joe said. "Now what?"

Emily pointed to a small cottage to the right of the church. "Let's try the rectory. Maybe we can find a priest there."

"After you," Joe said, extending his hand in front of him.

OOO

Emily approached the wooden door and gave a gentle knock. After a moment, the door was opened, and a white haired elderly priest, with a kind smile on his face, appeared.

"Bon jour. Peux je vous aider?"

"Oui. Parlez-vous anglais?"

"Un peu." The priest opened the door wide. "I am Father François. Come in."

Emily stepped into the cozy front room with Joe right behind her. The priest gestured for them to sit on the sofa and he took an armchair opposite them.

"What can I do for you? Are you tourists? Do you wish to see the church?"

Emily smiled. "I would love to see your church, but that's not what we're here for at the moment."

She explained to the priest, partially in English, for Joe's benefit, and partially in French, when the priest looked confused, about what had happened in the monastery. She asked about the rumors they'd heard about a group wanting to reconstruct the burned down cathedral in Usanne.

The priest shook his head. "This all makes me very sad. I had hoped it would die down, but it doesn't appear to be doing so."

He sighed and reached for a cane propped against his chair, then walked to a roll-top desk on the other side of the room.

"These people are stirring up trouble. They are ruining the peace of our village, and are causing hurt feelings toward the church and our Holy Father." He opened a drawer and pulled out a file folder. "Come."

Joe and Emily walked over to the priest as he removed some newspaper articles and spread them on his desk.

"I have saved these over the years. Occasionally, we have representatives from the Holy See ask how things are coming here with relation to the cathedral. I have developed quite a file of information for them."

Joe and Emily leaned over to get a closer look at a photo the priest placed on top of the pile of articles. Father François tapped the picture with his index finger.

"This is who is behind it all. He is an excommunicated priest. He is leading the movement to bring the Madonna and the monstrance back here. He thinks he has seen a vision. If he has, it was not from God."

Emily stared at the photo and her heart skipped a beat. "Joe?"

His lips were tight. "It's Dr. Delacroix."

OOO

Frank got off the train in Usanne, followed by Bess and Nancy. As they moved into the small terminal, he glanced at his watch.

"We have about an hour until Delacroix's train arrives. What do you want to do until then?"

"Find a place to store my luggage?" Bess suggested, signaling a porter who was following her with a handcart piled high with suitcases.

Frank chuckled. "How about a locker?"

"Or two," Nancy chimed in.

The porter held up three fingers. "Trois."

Nancy shook her head. "Bess, you really need to learn a few things about packing light."

"And you need to learn a few things about being prepared for any occasion," Bess countered. "How many times have you had to borrow something from me when we travelled, because you didn't pack the right ensemble?"

The girls headed off toward the lockers arguing, and Frank glanced at the porter, who shrugged.

"Qui naît poule aime à caqueter." _She who was born a hen likes to cackle._

"Sometimes," Frank agreed with a chuckle as he followed Nancy and Bess. "But don't ever let them hear you say that."

OOO

"Father, this man is currently serving at the monastery in St. Sylvie as a doctor," Joe said. "Do you know about that?"

The priest shook his head. "No, but I'm not surprised. I knew he was a physician. I believe he went to medical school after he was asked to leave the church."

Emily looked up at Father François. "When and why was he asked to leave?"

"He had been serving here in our parish, and he began causing trouble with his stories of visions. He claimed the Virgin Mary appeared to him and told him that her statue and the monstrance needed to be returned to our little town. He said our Lady was displeased with us, and we needed to make things right."

Joe sighed inwardly. Another nut job. He'd had enough of delusional people this week to last him a thousand lifetimes.

The priest reached for a shelf in the top part of his roll top desk and pulled out a photo album.

"This is Father Jean Claude when he served here."

Emily took the book and began turning the pages. "He looks like he was a well-liked priest."

"He was," Father François said. "That was the trouble. Many people believed his tales. He even founded his own order. 'The Knights of the Holy Cross.' He was leading people astray and he had to be stopped."

"Of the holy cross?" Emily grabbed Joe's arm. "Delacroix means 'of the cross.' It's definitely him."

"And the name Jean Claude was in that translation of Simone's book." Joe looked at the priest. "Can you tell us more about these visions Father Jean Claude was having?"

The priest reached for another file folder and pulled out a bound book.

"This is the official report. He claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary on multiple occasions. He told the bishop that a strong scent of flowers and a bright light always preceded the vision, and then he felt in his mind, rather than heard, what she wanted him to know."

Joe flipped through the report. "It says here that the Virgin told Father Jean Claude that it was his mission to restore the cathedral here, because the Holy Father was not worthy to lead the church."

"Yes, Father Jean Claude began having problems after Vatican Council II. He believed the changes in the church were not right and that the pope was not a true man of God. That he was leading the church astray."

"So he became a _sedevacantist_, right?" Emily chimed in.

The priest nodded solemnly. "He was not repentant. He was in open rebellion against the Church. We were left with no other choice but to excommunicate him."

"And what happened after that?" Joe asked.

The priest shrugged. "He relocated to the United States and went to medical school. I'd hoped that would be the end of the visions and campaigns to return the statue here. But it all began again about a year ago. He visited me and told me he wasn't giving up. That the Virgin was still speaking to him and that the cathedral was going to be rebuilt in our town…whether the church liked it or not."

"Where was the old cathedral located? Here where your church is now standing?" Emily asked.

The priest sat in his desk chair. "No. It was on the outskirts of town. It isn't even there anymore. A large corporation bought the land some years ago, and it's now a recreation area."

"But Father Jean Claude still thinks he's going to rebuild the cathedral there? How does he plan on doing that?" Emily wondered.

Father François looked weary as he shook his head.

"I don't know. Apparently he has gathered a group of followers to help him with his cause. They meet secretly somewhere around here, but I don't know the location."

Joe paced back and forth, mulling over everything the priest had told them. He paused and turned to Father François.

"Do you know anyone who does know where they meet?"

The priest shook his head. "I don't. I am required to maintain records of anything that pertains to this group as it affects my parish, but other than that, I want nothing to do with it. It is evil, my children. Evil."

OOO

Nancy was waiting at the train station with Frank and Bess for Dr. Delacroix to arrive. She was positioned near a newsstand with a floppy hat and her pair of "Jackie O." sunglasses on. She hoped it didn't look like a deliberate disguise.

She glanced across the terminal at Frank, who was seated on a bench, holding a newspaper in front of his face. It didn't fool her for one second. She knew he had a sharp eye on the tracks and would spot Delacroix as soon as he arrived.

Bess was positioned outside the station in a café across the street. She would be able to track the doctor's movements when he left the building and let her and Frank know where he was headed.

There was no way this guy was going to get away from them now.

No way.

OOO

Joe walked down the path from the church rectory holding Emily's hand and trying to decide on their next move in this case.

Emily interrupted his thoughts.

"How are we going to find out where Delacroix's clandestine group meets?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure someone in this town does," he said as they stepped back onto the cobblestone sidewalk. "We just have to figure out who it is. Oh, and how Simone figures into this whole mess."

Emily squeezed his hand. "You know, only you, Frank, and Nancy could manage to land two cases that end up being intertwined like this, don't you?"

"It's a curse," Joe said as they passed under the stone archway and back into the center of town.

Emily laughed. "I don't doubt it."

Joe stopped short as he looked across the road. "Em, does that look like Simone? That woman in the nun outfit?"

Emily stared in the direction Joe was pointing. "By the shuttle stop? Yeah, I think it is."

Joe pulled her back against the wall of a nearby building. "You know what? I think she was on the train. I saw a nun sitting in one of the cars, but her back was to me, and I didn't go check, because I never thought it could be Simone."

"She must have changed into a habit in the restroom after she boarded."

"It's the perfect disguise," Joe said. "Not many people are going to bother a nun."

"Where do you think she's going?"

Joe turned and smiled at her. "Well, with any luck, I'm hoping she'll lead us right to Delacroix and the secret meeting place."

OOOoooOOO

Frank peered over the edge of his newspaper at the passengers exiting the train Dr. Delacroix was supposed to be on. He watched carefully as each one descended the steps of the four cars. Just as he was about to give up, thinking maybe he had missed the train, Frank spotted the doctor. Wearing a priest's cassock. What the hell was that all about?

Frank glanced over at Nancy, who nodded, and melted into the crowd of travelers leaving the station. He folded his newspaper, tucked it under his arm and followed behind her.

As he stepped out of the building, Frank paused for a moment to allow the crowd to thin. He had no other disguise except a pair of sunglasses, and he didn't want Delacroix to spot him. He could see Nancy's hat and knew she was closer than he could get without risking his cover.

After a moment, he started down the sidewalk and noticed Nancy walking faster. She stopped suddenly, then turned and hurried toward him.

"He got into a car, Frank. Someone else was driving."

"So let's follow him."

"In what? There aren't any cabs here."

"Did you get the license number?"

Nancy shook her head. "I wasn't close enough."

Frank slapped the paper against his hand in frustration. "Now what?"

"Frank!"

Joe was hurrying toward him from across the street. He stopped to catch his breath when he finally reached him.

"It's Delacroix."

"Yeah, I know. We just missed him. He got into a car and took off."

"No, that's not what I mean. He's behind it. The whole thing."

"How do you know?" Nancy asked.

Joe explained what he'd learned at the local church and that he'd seen Simone in town as well.

"She got into a shuttle bus. Em and I went over to see where it was headed. It's some sort of private village for skiers. The village is built on the land where the cathedral once stood." Joe gestured over his shoulder. "Emily's in the resort office here in town trying to get more information."

Nancy grabbed Frank's arm. "Do you think that's where Dr. Delacroix was headed?"

"Let's hope so, because it's the only lead we've got," Frank said. "And I'm pretty sure that whatever Delacroix and Simone are up to…they're in it together."

Emily jogged over from a tiny office across the street, jangling keys in her hand.

"Here we go. Two reservations at Les Chalets du Soleil. The shuttle bus will pick us up in fifteen minutes."

"Simone went to a ski resort?" Nancy asked.

"Well, it's more like a private retreat than a resort," Emily explained. "Secluded cabins and lots of cross country trails. The woman in the office said that we would be left completely alone if that's how we wanted it."

"Sounds like the perfect place to hide if you're up to no good," Joe commented.

"It also sounds like the perfect place to stash a couple of stolen artifacts," Nancy said. "And my woman's…er…gut feeling, is telling me that when we catch up with Delacroix, we'll find the Madonna and the monstrance."

Frank smiled. His gut feeling was telling him the same exact thing.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: **Thanks to pen4lew, Leya, max2013, ILoveMom, BurnedSpy, Caranath, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Jackie and Vinsmouse for reviewing! I really appreciate it. Thanks also to those who are reading!

Chapter 36

"Simone isn't staying in one of these cabins, is she?" Frank asked Emily as she stepped down from the shuttle bus to the ski resort and handed him a key.

Emily shook her head. "No, the rental office assured me that the other cabins around ours would be unoccupied. I told her we didn't want any neighbors."

"Good."

Frank glanced around. The shuttle bus had stopped in front of a group of four small cabins, tucked into a copse of trees.

The area was very secluded and not too far from the latitude and longitude coordinates they'd decoded in Simone's book. This would be a good place to strategize and investigate. Frank didn't believe for one second that Simone and Delacroix showing up in the same small French town, on the same day, was a mere coincidence. They had to be associated somehow. And he was determined to find out what their connection was...and how it related to the missing monstrance and Madonna.

The shuttle driver approached him after unloading the luggage, and Frank reached into his pocket for a tip.

The driver smiled his gratitude as he climbed back into his vehicle, and Frank reached down to pick up his and Nancy's suitcases.

Bess grabbed one of her smaller bags. "So…whose party should I crash? I promise I won't be staying the night. My train leaves at eight p.m. I have to be in Three Valleys before Lars's ski competition tomorrow."

Nancy laughed. "You can come with us."

"Okay, but I'm holding you to that departure time, Bess," Frank said. "Otherwise, you're moving to Joe and Em's cabin."

Joe looked at Frank with a furrowed brow. "Say what?"

"You owe me, bro," Frank said. "And I'm planning on collecting today."

Bess snatched up another of her suitcases. "You guys really know how to make a girl feel welcome, don't you?"

"Nothing personal, Bess," Frank said. "You know I love you like a sister."

"Yeah," she said. "A pesky, younger sister who's been designated the chaperone to her big sis, so she and her boyfriend don't do something naughty."

Nancy laughed and grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's go check out our cabin. And then we're getting right to work on this case, so nothing naughty will be going on…for a while, anyway."

Joe smirked at Frank. "That tunnel vision Nancy gets when she's working on a case would annoy the hell out of me."

Frank sighed. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

OOOoooOOO

Joe hurried through the snow after Emily, who had already started down the path to their cabin. He arrived at the front door in time to hear her suck in her breath as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Oh, it's so cute!"

Joe glanced up as he adjusted the suitcases he was carrying. He didn't know much about cute, but it did look cozy. The cabin was tiny, with its roof extending almost all the way to the ground. The second story windows were multi-paned with painted shutters surrounding them, and the door was rounded at the top with decorative carving on either side. Nestled in the snow, it reminded him of a Christmas card.

Emily unlocked the door, and held it open for Joe, who stepped past her.

"It's nice," he commented. "A perfect place to hide away."

He watched as Emily walked over to admire the fireplace on the far side of the small room. She then turned her attention to the little staircase that led to the loft, where Joe assumed the bed was.

"This looks exactly like the dwarves cottage in Snow White!"

Joe smiled at the joy in her expression. Maybe they could come back here sometime for a real vacation. But for now he had to concentrate on finding Simone.

"Honey, I'm going to get Frank and check things out around here a little. Why don't you stay and get settled?"

Emily put her hands on her hips as she turned to look at him. "Nice try, but you aren't going to ditch me that easily."

He crossed the room and kissed her. "I'm not ditching you. I want to get this case solved, so we can have time for some fun here."

"And I want to help you solve it."

Joe's stomach flip flopped. Over the past year, Emily's interest in his cases had grown exponentially. It was now to the point where she expected to be included and didn't like him telling her otherwise.

"Honey…"Joe began.

"Joe, this was Nancy's case to begin with, and she brought me along as a consultant."

"And a consultant doesn't do actual detective work. A consultant…consults."

"Lame, Joe." Emily crossed her arms in front of her. "This case is about a missing piece of artwork. And I know more about it than the three of you put together. Not to mention, I know more about the background of this piece, and the history of the church, and how they deal with this sort of thing than you do."

"I don't need to know anything about the statue to find it," he protested.

Emily rolled her eyes.

"Babe, please." Joe crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. "Just let Frank and Nan and me try to locate Simone. Then we'll talk about finding the Madonna and the monstrance. They may not even be anywhere near here."

Emily remained silent.

Joe kissed the top of her head. "If we do find something that involves the art or will lead us to it, I promise I will consult with you before we do anything."

Emily looked into his eyes. "You swear it, Joe? Because that statue needs to be carefully handled. It's over six hundred years old, and she could be damaged if she's not–"

Joe placed his fingers over her lips. "I swear it."

She kissed his fingers, then pulled away. "Okay. But I'm holding you to that. I don't want anything to happen to the Madonna."

"It won't." Joe bent his head and touched his lips to hers.

A knock sounded on the door.

Joe groaned. "My brother and his impeccable timing."

Emily laughed, then moved over to the door and opened it. Nancy, Frank, and Bess stepped into the room.

"We're ready to go search for those coordinates," Nancy announced. "Get your gear, guys. The resort has backpacks full of equipment stowed in the closets. How cool is that?"

"They thought of everything," Frank added.

"Yep, they're the Frank Hardy of ski resorts," Bess said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Always prepared."

Joe crossed the room to a closet near the fireplace and reached inside for a backpack.

"Em's waiting here," he said. "So I'll only need one for me."

"What? Why?" Nancy asked. "I was counting on her expertise."

"He doesn't think you're going to find the Madonna now, so my expertise is a moot point," Emily explained.

Nancy rolled her eyes as Joe pulled on the backpack and moved over to them.

"You do realize it's nineteen seventy-nine, right Joe? Women's Lib and all that?"

"I'm humoring him for now," Emily explained. "But only because he's promised he'll come get me if you get a lead on the statue and the monstrance."

"I'll make sure to hold him to that," Nancy said.

Joe ignored her for the moment as he reached into his duffle bag and pulled out two maps he'd gotten at the hotel. An argument with Nancy over Women's Lib was not something he wanted to get into right now. He spread one of the maps out on the kitchen table.

"Here we go. The coordinates are marked. It doesn't look like there's anything there but wilderness, but I think we have to check it out."

Emily pursed her lips, but didn't say anything. Joe knew she was still mad. That was fine. He'd rather have her mad and safe, than happy and in potential danger.

"If you don't hear back from us in a couple of hours, then go and get someone at the lodge to look for us. Don't come on your own, understand?"

She crossed her arms in front of her, but didn't respond.

"Em, I'm serious."

"It'll be fine, Joe," Bess inserted. "We'll stay here and man the command center. Somebody has to."

"Thank you," he said, giving Emily and Nancy a sideways glance. "At least someone is being rational."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Not sure I'd go there if I were you."

"Sweetheart, please." Joe put his hands on her shoulders. "We don't have a lot of time to argue. And chances are we're not going to find anything out there but some snow and trees."

Emily sighed and Joe knew he'd won…for the moment. He hugged her and gave her lips a gentle kiss.

"Thank you. We'll be back soon, I promise."

He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door with Frank and Nancy.

OOO

"Ooooh," Emily seethed. "He can be so infuriating sometimes."

"Yeah, but I'm sure the smokin' hot sex helps make up for it, right?" Bess asked, reaching for a bowl of fruit in the center of the table.

Emily burst out laughing. "Yeah. Actually, it does."

OOOoooOOO

Frank pulled the map out of his backpack and studied it. "We're in the right spot. The coordinates are dead on."

"Then why is there nothing around here but trees and more trees?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know." Frank scanned the surrounding area. It was wooded, but not heavily. They were near several decent size rocky areas that were snow covered at the moment, but even if the snow melted, they couldn't hide the reconstruction of a cathedral. Or even a small chapel for that matter.

"Maybe these coordinates just determined the meeting place, not the spot where the cathedral is supposed to be," Joe offered.

"Yeah, but why would you have a meeting in the middle of nowhere? In the winter?" Nancy asked.

"I agree. It doesn't make sense," Joe said. "But I don't see anything else."

"Maybe that's the point," Frank spoke up. "Look here."

He held out the map and put his finger on a spot about twenty yards from where they were standing.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"What do you see?" Frank asked.

"More nothing?" Joe chimed in.

"No. It's a marked entrance to a cave." He turned to Nancy. "Do you remember the lady in the bookstore in St. Sylvie told us that this area was popular with spelunkers?"

Nancy's eyes lit up. "Are you saying….?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Uh," Joe interrupted. "For the outsider here who isn't a part of your weird telepathic 'our two brains are really one' crap….would you mind filling me in?"

Frank laughed. Joe was right. He and Nancy had always finished each other's thoughts and sentences since they'd first met. He knew it annoyed everyone around them, but he loved that they were so simpatico.

"Think about it," Nancy said. "What if the location of the cathedral is right here…just underground."

"You're saying it's in a cave?"

"What better place to hide the artifacts than underground?" Frank asked. "Who's going to search there? Especially in the winter."

"But if the cave is marked on a map, then people will find it at some point," Joe said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Not all caves are completely mapped out. Most aren't actually," Frank explained. "The public may only have access to the first half mile or mile of this cave system. What if Delacroix has a spot that hasn't been explored yet?"

"That's a lot of 'ifs', Frank."

"Maybe. But I think it's worth checking into, don't you?"

Joe sighed. "Yeah. You're right. Besides we have nothing else."

Frank nodded. "Then let's go explore the cave."

OOO

Joe leaned over Frank's shoulder and peered at the map of the caves located in the same general area as the coordinates from Simone's book. He knew this was going to be a shot in the dark at best, but he agreed it was one they had to take.

"Based on what you have in front of you, it doesn't look like the cave map extends to the coordinates where we think the cathedral might have been," Joe said to his brother.

"I know, but that doesn't mean the caves don't extend that far, just that they haven't mapped them."

"Which means they're probably too dangerous to map, and they don't want the public in there," Joe said.

"It could mean they just haven't gotten around to it," Nancy told him. "If we're careful, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah," Frank paused. "Nancy, maybe you should wait–"

"Don't even go there, Frank," she warned. "Just don't."

Joe smirked. Frank was going to have a fight on his hands if he thought Nancy was going to stay behind at this point. He was glad he managed to convince Emily that the cabin was the best place for her to remain.

Frank sighed in resignation. "Fine, just stay behind me."

Nancy rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. The three of them hiked over to the main entrance of the cave.

"I don't see footprints," Frank commented. "Of course someone could have been here earlier, and the snow could have buried them."

"Yeah, well let's get this over with. I don't want the snow to bury us while we're in there." Joe pulled out a cave helmet with a lantern attached from his backpack and placed it on his head, while Nancy and Frank did the same.

They snaked through the narrow entrance of the cave and moved in a single file line, with Nancy in between Frank and Joe.

Frank held the map in front of him. "In order to get closer to where the coordinates would be, we're going to need to take this passage coming up on the left. According to this map, it dead ends after about a half mile, but we'll see."

Peachy, Joe thought. He wasn't wild about caves. He didn't have claustrophobia, but being in a cave could get him pretty close to feeling that way. He was also fairly confident that Delacroix wouldn't choose such an easy-to-find meeting place. Of course, there was no way to be sure until they ruled it out. And he was hoping to do that quickly.

"Here."

Frank pointed to a side passage that looked a bit narrower than the passage they were in currently.

Joe swallowed hard. He hated narrow.

"Let's keep our voices down, just in case someone's here," Frank said.

"Won't the giant beacons of light on our head give us away?" Joe asked.

"Nan and I will turn ours off," Frank said. "That'll be much less light, and since you're at the end of the line, it won't precede us."

"Fine," Joe said. "Let's get this over with."

They started down the passage way with Frank still in the lead. The ground was flat and easy to navigate at first, but the passageway tightened as they got further in, until Joe's shoulders were almost grazing both walls as they walked. The ground became rockier as well, forcing them to slow down as they stepped over small formations in the dirt.

After a few more minutes, Frank stopped. "It looks like it dead ends up here."

Joe saw Nancy try to peer around his brother.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Maybe there's another passageway off to the side."

A deep male voice coming from in front of Frank startled Joe.

"Very good, Miss Drew. I see you're the one with the brains around here."

Joe swore silently. In their eagerness to finish up this case, they had managed to walk right into a trap. He knew he should have paid more attention to that uneasy feeling he had coming into this cave. It had nothing to do with narrow passageways and everything to do with imminent danger.

He clicked off the lamp on his helmet and began to back up slowly. If he could sneak out, he could get help.

"Not another step, Mr. Hardy," said another male voice behind him.

Joe felt the press of a revolver into his back and heard the click of the safety being released.

"Or I promise it will be your last."


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: **Huge thanks to max2013, Stork Hardy, Caranath, BurnedSpy, Guest, zenfrodo, Kenna, Jackie and Vinsmouse for reviewing! You're awesome! Thanks to those reading as well!

Chapter 37

Emily paced.

The cabin was starting to feel claustrophobic.

She retraced her well-worn path.

Window to fireplace.

Fireplace to kitchen table.

Kitchen table to window.

The snow was still falling. Gently for now, but she was worried it could turn into a full blown storm at any moment.

The sky looked threatening.

Dark.

Ominous.

She walked her little circuit again.

"You're going to wear a groove in the floor if you keep that up," Bess said. She was seated at the table sipping a mug of hot chocolate.

"I know. I can't help it." Emily turned away from the window. "I feel useless just waiting here."

Bess pushed a mug of cocoa across the table. "Have a cup. It'll give you something to do."

Emily shook her head. "My stomach's too tied up in knots for that."

"He'll be okay," Bess said. "All three of them are amazing detectives. You know that."

Emily ran her hands up and down her arms to ward off an invisible chill.

"Then why can't I shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong?"

"Because you love Joe."

"That's not it."

Something had been bothering her, but she couldn't quite figure out what. Now she knew. Emily hurried over to her carry-on bag and dug out two of the books Frank and Nancy had purchased at the bookstore in St. Sylvie. She dropped them on the kitchen table and sat down.

Pushing the one written in English toward Bess, she said, "Something has been bugging me about this case, and I haven't quite been able to put my finger on it."

Bess lifted up the volume and read the title.

"_The Madonna of St. Sylvie_. What about it?"

"Well, we know that Dr. Delacroix…er, Father Jean-Claude…wanted this statue placed back in its original location. He felt that removing it had caused the Virgin to be upset."

"Yes, but the cathedral in this town burned to the ground. There is no original location anymore."

Emily looked up at her. "What if the cathedral wasn't the statue's original location?"

OOOoooOOO

Joe squirmed against the zip ties that were holding his hands together.

Kidnapped.

Twice in twenty-four hours.

That had to be some kind of record.

He kicked against the dirt of the cave floor, trying to loosen the ties around his ankles, with no luck.

Frank, who was tied up about five feet away from him, was doing the same thing.

"This sucks," Joe hissed to his brother.

"No kidding." Frank turned to look at Nancy who was tied up on the other side of him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm mad," she said. "That goon who pulled the gun on us was the one who chloroformed me in the elevator. Just who are these guys, anyway?"

"I don't know, but I plan on asking them as soon as they get back," Frank said.

"I plan on being out of here by then."

Joe pulled at the ties against his wrists, and only succeeded in digging them painfully into his skin. He was about to roll himself over to Frank to see if they couldn't somehow manage to loosen the plastic restraints, when someone entered the room.

Delacroix.

"Ah, and who do we have here? Trespassers, I see."

The doctor paced back and forth in front of them. Joe wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look right off the man's face.

"Trespassers?" Frank called out. "I don't think so. You don't own this land. If anyone is trespassing here, it's you."

Dr. Delacroix laughed, loud and long. "You are sadly mistaken. Just as you were in the monastery. This cave belongs to me. It was decreed so by a source that trumps all earthly authority. The Madonna and the monstrance belong to me as well."

"So you did take them from Father Bertrand," Nancy said.

"I was only following instructions," the doctor said. "The monastery has no right to those objects. They were in direct defiance of the orders of Our Lady."

Joe shook his head. Yep, another whack job. He really did need to look into accounting. He was sick of dealing with the crazies.

"The pope doesn't think so," Nancy said.

Delacroix walked over to her, and Joe could see Frank tense up. His brother's hands fisted, even within the flex cuffs, and his jaw tightened noticeably. The flash of anger in Frank's eyes told Joe that if the doctor knew what was good for him, he'd move away from Nancy.

"What do I care what he thinks? He is a charlatan and a fool. He has no authority over this church. The papal seat is vacant."

"So what do you intend to do with the statue?" Joe asked. "Did you destroy it?"

Dr. Delacroix opened his eyes wide, and furrowed his brow.

"Destroy Our Lady? Why would I do that? I have merely brought her back to her rightful home."

He smiled. Joe thought it looked more like a sneer.

"And how are we supposed to know that?"

Joe shifted again, trying to wiggle the zip tie along one of his hands. If he could get it high enough, he might be able to slip a thumb out.

"I will allow you to see her for yourselves," Dr. Delacroix assured him.

He gestured to his henchman, then pointed at Nancy.

"Take her out of here. She is not fit to be in the shrine until she has undergone the cleansing ritual."

OOOoooOOO

"What are you talking about?" Bess asked. "Why wouldn't the cathedral be the original location of the statue?"

"Here." Emily opened the book written in English, and pointed to a paragraph. "I started to look into this when Kathy tried to marry Joe. That whole thing distracted me and I'd completely forgotten about it until now."

Bess took the book from her and silently read the passage.

"So the first shrine wasn't actually in the cathedral…it was in a cave?"

"Yes. According to the legend, Father Gregory had his vision of the Virgin Mary in the year eight fifty-three. There was obviously no cathedral built then." Emily tapped the page. "The priest was meeting with his followers in a cave so that they wouldn't be persecuted. Apparently there were still small pockets of Pagans in this area who clung tightly to their beliefs and didn't want Christianity taking hold any more than it already had."

"So, you're saying that if Delacroix is trying to return the statue to its original location, it might have nothing to do with the site of the cathedral at all."

Emily nodded. "The little chapel that's now inside the monastery, and then the cathedral, were built near where Father Gregory had his vision, but it wasn't in the exact same spot."

"Well, yeah. Who's going to build a cathedral on top of a cave system?"

"Exactly."

"So where is this cave?" Bess asked.

Emily flipped through a few pages in the other book she had, then jumped up excitedly.

"Look at this."

"My French sucks," Bess said, as she took the book. "What does it say?"

"It says that the cave is located about a mile from the original cathedral site to the west. It's supposedly non-navigable at the moment, but there are other entrances where the public can access the cave system."

"'Supposedly non-navigable,'" Bess said. "I take it to mean you don't believe that."

"You're right. I think that's where Delacroix's meeting place is, and that's where he's keeping the Madonna and the monstrance."

Emily pointed to another paragraph in the book.

"Check this out."

"Again…the French."

"Sorry." Emily took a deep breath as she began to translate. "It says that the entrance to the original shrine is difficult to find, because it is narrow and resembles a key hole. That was in Simone's message. 'A key that isn't a key.' This has to be what she's talking about."

Bess pursed her lips. "We're going out in the snow, aren't we?"

"Yes, we have to find Joe. He doesn't know any of this, and it will make all the difference in where they investigate."

OOOoooOOO

Frank thought he hadn't heard the doctor correctly. But he did know one thing…there was no way in hell the man was taking Nancy anywhere.

Nancy sat bolt upright. "What? What are you talking about? I'm not participating in any cleansing ritual."

"No, she's not," Frank said, his voice hard and cold. "She doesn't leave my side."

Frank was ready to kill the man. The only cleansing rituals involving women that he could recall from history, were rituals that had them stripped naked. There was no way in hell this bastard was going to do that to Nancy. Not while there was still breath in his body.

Dr. Delacroix wagged his finger at Frank.

"You're not in a position to tell anyone what to do, are you, Mr. Hardy? She is a woman, and therefore bears the stain of the sins of Eve. She must be cleansed before she can stand before the Holy Virgin."

"I swear on everything holy, if you so much as touch one hair on her head, I will kill you with my bare hands when I get out of these plastic cuffs."

Frank was shaking with anger. This bastard was threatening Nancy and taunting him with it. He couldn't let Delacroix take her away from him. If she was out of his sight, he couldn't do anything to protect her.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt her."

Dr. Delacroix gestured to his hulking assistant, who scooped up a protesting Nancy in his arms.

"Frank!" she cried out.

Frank could see her squirming and kicking at the man holding her, and the fear in her voice was evident. She was swinging at him with her hands, even though they were tied together, but her captor was dodging her blows.

Frank saw red. He hurled himself toward the man, trying to grab his feet and shove him forward.

He felt Joe move closer and try to strike out at the henchman as well.

The man laughed and moved out of their reach.

Nancy shrieked as he flung her over his shoulder and headed down a tunnel.

"Put her down, you son of a bitch!"

Frank was full of rage like he'd never felt before.

His chest tightened and he felt like he couldn't breathe as Nancy disappeared from his view.

He had to get out of these restraints.

Nancy needed him.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy knew she had to stay calm. It was the only way she was going to save herself. Swallowing her fear, she tried to pay attention as Delacroix's goon carried her down a tunnel in the cave. She had to be able to find her way back to Frank and Joe at some point. Being separated could be deadly.

The man took a smaller tunnel that branched off from the one they were in. _He went right,_ Nancy thought, committing that to memory. After a turn to the left and another to the right, she found herself entering what appeared to be a small room with a very thick wooden door.

The man deposited her on a cot in the corner in a sitting position. Nancy noticed that there was a small cabinet with a pitcher, towels, and what looked like a jar of oil sitting on top of it, next to the cot.

She glanced at the man who had brought her there. If he so much as tried to touch her again, she was going to knock him into next week.

The man, however, had moved to the other side of the small room, and stood near the entrance. He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were firmly fixed on the wall ahead of him.

"What exactly is going on here?" Nancy demanded.

The man remained silent.

"Answer me!"

The man gave her a quick glance, then averted his eyes.

"You are unclean."

"Oh, that whole 'stain of Eve' thing again? You do know the rest of the world has moved out of the Dark Ages, don't you? I'm no longer a pariah of society simply because I'm female."

The man didn't respond.

Nancy rolled her eyes and looked around the room, hoping to find something she might be able to use as a weapon. Footsteps in the tunnel turned her attention back to the door of the room. A woman in a nun's habit entered with her head bowed.

She walked over to Nancy and stood in front of her, finally lifting her eyes to meet Nancy's.

Simone.

OOOoooOOO

Joe watched as Frank tried to lash out with his feet at the doctor, who neatly sidestepped him.

"Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Hardy. You'd better watch yourself. I'm holding all the cards here. Not to mention…your girlfriend."

Joe could tell that Frank was so angry, he couldn't even speak. Joe decided to do it for him.

"You're only holding the cards for the moment," Joe assured him. "And when we do get loose, you're going to wish you had never gone near my brother's girlfriend."

Dr. Delacroix waved his hand dismissively.

"I am not afraid of you or your brother. I have the power of heaven on my side."

"You'd better damn well hope so," Frank said, his voice taut and full of venom. "Because when I get my hands on you…you're going to need whatever supernatural power you can muster to protect you."

The doctor laughed and moved over to Joe.

"And where is your lovely girlfriend today?"

"None of your damn business."

Dr. Delacroix nodded. "Well, maybe I'll just have my men go and find her when I'm finished with you. She wouldn't want to miss our celebration. I've been impressed with her knowledge of the Madonna. I know she'll want to see that she's safe."

"Emily stayed behind in St. Sylvie to help with the senator's daughter, so you can look for her here all you want. You won't find her."

"You're lying," the doctor said. "And I will find her."

Joe shrugged and pretended not to be worried, although his insides were now twisting with fear.

"Not here you won't."

Dr. Delacroix turned as the man who'd held the second gun on them earlier, entered the room carrying a chalice. The doctor smiled his thanks and took the cup from him. He looked down at Frank and Joe.

"Now is the time for your preparation. You must drink of the fruit of the holy vine in order to stand in the presence of Our Lady. It will allow your mind to relax and receive the spiritual truths that are presented. Once you learn of them, you will not want to leave our order."

"Don't swallow," Frank hissed.

No shit. Joe had no idea what sort of potion the doctor had concocted, but he knew that the man had access to every kind of drug on the market, and that thought alone made him wary.

The henchman approached Frank first and grabbed his hair. He yanked him backwards, forcing Frank's mouth open while the doctor poured half of the contents of the chalice between his lips.

Joe saw most of it trickle out of the corners of his brother's mouth, so he knew that even if Frank did swallow, it wasn't the full adult dose. He saw Frank's Adam's apple move up and down, but he also knew Frank was the king of holding something in his mouth, pretending to swallow, and then spitting it out later. Aunt Gertrude's penchant for serving Brussels sprouts at dinner during their childhood had perfected that talent in both of them.

The man approached Joe next, and Joe kicked out with his feet at the man's shins. He got a crack upside the head for that little move. The blow stunned Joe, and when the man poured the rest of the chalice contents into his mouth, Joe was unable to resist swallowing some of it. It tasted like wine to him. He hoped that was all it was. Altar wine he could handle. An altar drug cocktail, he couldn't.

He turned to his brother, who was holding his arms up to his mouth in the guise of covering a cough. Joe saw the burgundy liquid spilling out onto Frank's shirt sleeves.

Joe managed to bend his head forward and let the liquid remaining in his mouth trickle down onto his sweater. Thank goodness his sweater was navy blue and the color of the wine wasn't glaringly noticeable.

"Now then," Dr. Delacroix announced, with a wide sweep of his arms. "When the potion begins to take effect, we will be ready to move into the cathedral."

"Cathedral?" Joe asked.

"Yes. I have restored the original shrine to Our Blessed Mother, just the way she asked me to. She is finally home."

Joe was starting to feel a little woozy. "What did you give us?"

"Just a little elixir I concocted after reading a story about another famous priest…Friar Laurence. Does the name ring a bell?"

Joe thought it should, but his mind was growing fuzzy.

Frank spoke up. "Romeo and Juliet."

"Ah, yes. I see you are literate." Dr. Delacroix stepped over to him. "Friar Laurence was inspired to make a potion…mandragora…from another famous character in history. Hannibal."

Joe saw Frank nod, and he wondered what the hell Hannibal had to do with Shakespeare. They didn't even live at the same time. The thought made Joe stifle a giggle. That couldn't be good. He wasn't one to giggle. Frank began to speak and Joe thought he sounded very far away.

"In the battle for the city of Carthage, Hannibal left behind a feast that included drugged wine. He made it from the Mandrake root. It put the invading warriors to sleep, and when Hannibal's troops returned, they ambushed their enemies and destroyed them."

Joe didn't like the word "destroyed."

"Are you going to destroy us?" Joe's speech sounded slurred, even to his own ears.

Dr. Delacroix laughed. "No. I am only preparing you to receive spiritual enlightenment by reducing your inhibitions. I know how to prepare mandragora so that the effects are more subtle."

"Why?" Frank asked.

Now his brother's voice was sounding slurred, too. Joe thought this might be a good time to take a nap. His eyes were feeling so heavy. Dr. Delacroix's voice echoed in his head.

"Because Our Lady needs valiant soldiers to defend her to the world. I have observed you and your brother. You possess all the qualities of the ancient knights. You are now under my control and you will be ordained as one of my knights. One of her knights. And you will do whatever I command you in her name. Won't you?"

Joe felt Dr. Delacroix gazing at him as he awaited a response. It made Joe uncomfortable, but he couldn't move. His body was too heavy.

"Yes," Joe mumbled, before he closed his eyes.

Sleep was beckoning.

OOOoooOOO

"Oh, this is rich," Nancy said, staring up at the woman who'd been Kathy's governess. "Playing nun with Dr. Delacroix on his trip down Insanity Lane? And I thought Kathy was whacked. You have her beat, you know that? And that's not an easy thing to do."

Simone gave her a pitying smile. "You are a foolish girl."

"Right back at ya," Nancy replied.

"No matter, we will fix that. You will soon see the light."

Simone walked over to the small table and reached for the cabinet door underneath the wash basin. She pulled out a glass and a decanter of what Nancy thought was wine. She filled the glass halfway, then gestured to the man standing guard.

"Please make sure she drinks this."

"What is that?" Nancy asked.

She was not going to swallow any of it.

"Just some wine to make you relax before I begin the cleansing."

And that wasn't happening either.

Nancy decided that for the moment, resistance would make things worse. She was going to pretend to cooperate…for now.

"I could actually use a drink."

Simone smiled, as the man approached Nancy and tugged her head back.

"Hey, I said I'd drink it. You don't need to be a jerk."

He released his grip a little as he pressed the glass to Nancy's lips. She took the contents into her mouth in one gulp and pretended to swallow while pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Nothing went down her throat. She held the wine in her mouth, waiting for a chance to get rid of it without anyone seeing.

"Good girl," Simone said, and turned her attention back to the table where she began arranging the oil. She handed the pitcher to the man.

"I need this full of hot water, please. And there is no perfume here. Would you please bring me a bottle from the supply shelf?"

The man nodded and taking the pitcher, left the room. He pulled the large wooden door closed, and Nancy was left alone with Simone.

She knew this would be her only chance to escape.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: **A million thanks to Caranath, Chelle, max2013, Lady Emily, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Kenna, Guest, catlover1033, ILoveMom, Vinsmouse and Jackie for reviewing! We're getting very close to the end! Thanks to all who are reading.

Chapter 38

Emily bit her bottom lip as she stood with Bess in the woods staring at the rock formations in front of them. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next. Detective work with Joe was fun. Detective work without him was…intimidating.

"Now what?" Bess asked. "I don't see anything in these rocks that looks like a keyhole."

"Neither do I," Emily said.

She looked at the map again. Joe had marked the coordinates on it, and she and Bess had somehow managed to find them in the woods, and then move about a mile to the west. The footprints they thought might have belonged to Joe, Frank, and Nancy had ended abruptly. That worried Emily more than she cared to admit. The newly falling snow could have covered them, but she didn't think the explanation was that simple.

Emily shivered. It was too quiet out here. And there was no sign of Joe, Frank, or Nancy anywhere. The wind howled as it passed through the tree branches overhead and she pulled her parka more tightly around her.

She was feeling very uneasy about the whole situation. Uneasy enough that she went back to the cabin and phoned Father François at the local church to explain the situation. He promised to relay her information to the police and send someone out to investigate as soon as possible.

But that help was at least thirty minutes away.

And Emily wasn't willing to wait for their arrival to try and find Joe.

No matter how scared she was.

She didn't think they had time.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy watched Simone warily as she continued to arrange items on the wash basin. She was still holding the wine in her mouth. She didn't want to let it trickle out for fear that Simone would give her another glass of it…but she couldn't hold it in forever either.

Simone turned and surveyed Nancy.

"How are you feeling?"

Nancy didn't reply.

"That was a very special wine. It's an ancient recipe made with the mandrake root. It will make you feel wonderful and more able to accept the spiritual truths to which you will be exposed."

Mandrake. From the nightshade family. A hallucinogenic.

Yeah, Nancy was sure this was the source of Delacroix's visions, not some manifestation from heaven. Fabulous. She sighed inwardly. Time to act stoned out of her mind.

Simone continued to observe her, so Nancy started to sway a bit. She closed her eyes and opened them again. She gave what she hoped was a soporific smile, and she began moving her body as if she were hearing music in her head.

Simone stood in front of her.

"That's it. You're starting to feel relaxed now. We'll be able to begin the ritual in a few moments."

Nancy closed her eyes and lolled her head forward. Getting into position. Knowing she had only one shot at this, she wasn't going to screw it up.

Simone bent her head close to Nancy's.

"Miss Drew?"

Nancy's head shot up, and she sprayed the wine she'd been holding in her mouth all over Simone's face.

The woman gasped and shut her eyes.

Nancy fisted her two tied hands together and forced them upwards as hard as she could.

She caught Simone in the nose.

Blood poured down the woman's face.

Simone staggered backwards and her foot caught on a rag rug lying on the floor. She fell, hitting the back of her head solidly on the corner of the wash basin, collapsing on the floor in an unconscious heap.

Nancy's heart was racing.

She glanced at the thick wooden door. Hopefully nobody had heard anything. She didn't have much time to get out of her restraints before Delacroix's thug returned.

What on earth could she use to cut them?

The glass.

She got to her feet and hopped over to the wash basin. Grabbing the glass, she broke it against the side of the cabinet. A large triangular piece was left in her hands.

Nancy whispered a silent prayer of thanks as she held it steady and began moving the plastic zip tie on her wrist along its razor sharp edge.

OOOoooOOO

Emily was still studying the rocky formations in front of her, trying to spot what might be an entrance to a cave, when Bess grabbed her arm.

"A key that isn't a key!"

"What?" Emily asked.

"Right there." Bess pointed across the woods at a group of boulders. "What does that look like?"

Emily squinted. There was an opening between the rocks that looked exactly like a keyhole. That had to be it. She hugged her friend.

"You found it, Bess!"

"Which means we have to go in there, doesn't it?"

"Of course. We don't have time to wait for the police. They're going to take at least thirty minutes to get here."

Bess sighed and adjusted her backpack. "Then lead the way."

OOOoooOOO

Joe was feeling very groggy.

He opened his eyes slightly. Lights flickered around him.

Candles.

Chanting.

Someone was chanting. It sounded like the monastery when the monks walked through the halls together.

Was he in the monastery?

The cathedral?

No, it smelled too musty. It smelled like dirt.

He couldn't tell where he was. He felt a hard slab of stone underneath him. He was lying on something. An altar? How weird.

If only he wasn't so damn sleepy…

OOOoooOOO

Emily paused and fished a flashlight out of her backpack as soon as she and Bess stepped through the keyhole opening of the cave into a long, narrow tunnel.

She shone her light around. Stalactites reached down from the ceiling like hundreds of calcified icicles. There were large stalagmites on the ground as well, that were partially blocking the path. The combination of the two together in the dark, confined, space made Emily feel as though she were walking into the mouth of a beast. She shivered.

"Be very quiet and let's make sure we stay together," she whispered.

"You won't have to tell me twice," Bess said, grabbing onto the back of Emily's jacket.

They walked cautiously for about fifteen minutes, the path winding and narrow. Emily was trying very hard to stay calm. This sort of adventure without Joe made her very nervous. And she couldn't shake the feeling that danger lay ahead.

Bess poked her in the back. "What's that smell?"

Emily paused. She'd noticed it, too. It was sweet and almost cloying. She took a deep breath, then grabbed Bess's arm.

"It smells like incense."

"Oh, great," Bess hissed, sniffing the air. "Are we walking into a den of hippies or something? Do you smell pot, too?"

Emily shook her head and continued down the tunnel for a few more minutes. She noticed that her surroundings seemed to be getting brighter. She clicked off her flashlight and found that there was enough light to see by.

"What's going on?" Bess whispered. "Now it smells like burning candles."

"I don't know. But there's light ahead." Emily held her finger across her lips to indicate silence as the girls crept forward, using the walls of the cave to steady themselves.

"Is it my imagination, or is it getting a little windy in here?" Bess said softly.

"I feel it, too. I think it's called 'breathing' in a cave."

Emily pointed to the walls ahead. There was writing on them. She paused to examine it. It was Latin, but the writing was in black acrylic paint.

"Cave dwellers?" Bess whispered.

"Modern cave dwellers," Emily said, her voice low. "This was done recently."

"What does it say?"

Emily swallowed hard. The words were a Latin prayer to the Virgin, but in this environment, they felt almost sinister to her. She felt coldness descend on her as she read from the wall in a shaky whisper.

"_Salve, mater misericórdiae,_

_Mater Dei et mater véniae,_

_Mater spei et mater grátiae,_

_Mater plena sanctae laetitiae,_

_O Maria!"_

"What does that mean?" Bess hissed, a slight edge to her voice.

Emily tried to keep her voice steady. Panicking would not help either of them.

"It's Latin. It's a prayer to the Virgin. The _Salve, Mater Misericórdiae_. Translated it means 'Hail, Mother of Mercy', but I'd say that for us…it means we're in the right place."

OOOoooOOO

Frank felt as though he were awakening from a deep sleep. He'd tried to keep from swallowing Delacroix's nightshade cocktail, but some had slipped down his throat despite his efforts.

Where was he?

He cracked open one eye slightly. He was still in the cave, but he'd been moved to a large cavern. Lying on a cold slab of stone.

What the hell was this all about?

Not wanting to alert anyone to his conscious state, he remained as still as he could.

A male voice was chanting in Latin. Delacroix? He waited for a moment until someone entered his line of vision. It was one of Delacroix's lackeys dressed in monk robes. Well, that explained things.

The doctor must have had these guys planted in the monastery to do his dirty work. That way he had an alibi for everything bad that happened there.

Frank watched as the man knelt in front of what must have been the main altar of this shrine. He listened carefully. The prayer was the Ave Maria. Frank tilted his head slightly and looked up.

There on a ledge overlooking the entire shrine was the Madonna of St. Sylvie.

OOOoooOOO

Nancy struggled to get the piece of glass to cut through her plastic ties.

Just another millimeter and her hands would be free.

She tried to hurry, but only succeeded in stabbing herself.

_Deep breath_, she told herself. She needed to stay calm.

Nancy glanced down at Simone, who was still unconscious. She didn't think the woman was dead, but hopefully she'd be out for a while.

At last the glass broke through the tie and her wrists were free.

Nancy flexed her hands and shook them to get the blood flowing again.

She ignored the feeling of pins and needles in her fingers, and the sting from what she thought must be hundreds of cuts where she'd missed with the glass and caught her flesh instead.

Reaching down for her feet, she started working on the ties around her ankles. They had to come off.

Unfortunately, using a piece of glass as a cutting instrument was not nearly as efficient as a knife.

She was halfway through the plastic when she heard it.

Heavy footsteps echoing in the tunnel.

Someone was coming.

OOOoooOOO

As Emily looked into the distance, the light in the cave seemed to grow brighter. She gestured to Bess who nodded in response. The girls moved cautiously toward the light, stopping when the cave seemed to open up a few feet in front of them.

Emily paused to get her bearings and realized they were on a stone ledge, overlooking a huge cavern.

She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the ledge she was on. Peering around a large rock and down into the cavern, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Dr. Delacroix was there, dressed in full priestly vestments, chanting as he lit an incense burner. He picked it up by the chain and began wafting it around the cave.

Bess sneaked up next to her. "What the hell is he doing?"

"I think he's saying Mass."

"Oh, so that 'excommunicated' thing means nothing to him."

As Dr. Delacroix moved from his position and approached the altar, Emily's heart jumped to her throat.

Lying on two stone slabs, apparently unconscious, were Frank and Joe.

OOOoooOOO

Frank tried not to cough as Delacroix waved incense all around him. He hated that smell.

One of the pseudo-monks approached Dr. Delacroix.

"We will be ready to begin shortly. Sister Simone is preparing Miss Drew for the ceremony."

"Has she been washed and dressed?" Dr. Delacroix asked.

"Brother Pierre had to go and get the rose perfume. Then she will begin the ritual."

Dr. Delacroix nodded and gestured to Frank. "I expect he will be out for a little longer. When he comes to, we'll be able to get him ready for his part as well."

Frank closed his eyes as the monk turned in his direction.

"Will he be able to…perform…in this state?" the monk asked.

"Oh, yes. Mandrake root is also used as an aphrodisiac in some cultures. Performing should be no problem for him. Especially when his girlfriend walks in here wearing only the sheerest of white robes…and nothing underneath."

_What the hell? _

Frank struggled to keep his breathing slow and even. He couldn't look like he was awake.

"You will marry them first?"

"Of course. If the Hardy brothers are to become knights of my realm, they cannot have any stains of sin from their previous lives marring their souls. They will be married under the eyes of the Virgin and then have purifying relations here on the altar to complete the cleansing process and atone for their sins."

It took all the self-control that Frank possessed not to fly off the stone slab he was lying on and beat the hell out of Delacroix.

Did this madman really think that he was going to have sex with Nancy on a stone altar in full view of everyone? As part of some sort of whacked out repentance ritual? This guy wasn't just a religious nut, he was a pervert, too.

Frank took another slow deep breath to stay calm.

Because he had to figure a way out of here.

Fast.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: **Thanks to BurnedSpy, zenfrodo, max2013, Jackie, Stork Hardy, Guest, Caranath, Kenna, Lady Emily, ILoveMom, Guest, Guest, and Guest for your reviews. You are all awesome! Thank you also to those reading. We are only a couple chapters away from the end now!

Chapter 39

Nancy swallowed hard to quell the panic that was rising in her throat as she heard the heavy footsteps echoing in the tunnel.

She sliced through the last bit of plastic binding her ankles and discarded it.

Stumbling to the wash basin, she reached for the pitcher and tested its weight in her hands.

She smiled. It was ironstone. Nice and heavy.

Positioning herself behind the door to the tiny room, she took a deep breath, and waited.

OOOoooOOO

Emily stared into the cavern from her hiding place on the ledge. Joe was still unconscious. Her heart twisted in her chest. She was not going to let this madman hurt him. He'd saved her life more times than she could remember. It was her turn to save his now.

She blinked back tears.

What on earth could she do to help him?

Delacroix and his monk were talking about Frank and Nancy. Emily strained to listen. The stalagmite formations around her offered cover, but they muffled the sounds coming from below. When she was able to make out their conversation, her eyes widened.

"This guy is a freak," she whispered to Bess.

"No kidding. What are we going to do to help them get out of here?" Bess asked in a low voice.

Emily moved away from the ledge and sat back heavily against the stone wall of the tunnel. She felt completely helpless.

Wiping away two errant tears, she said softly, "I don't know. This isn't my field of expertise."

Bess crawled over to Emily. "Yeah, so what? The ones who are experts in this field managed to get themselves kidnapped, so maybe being an amateur here isn't such a bad thing."

Emily managed a smile in spite of the almost paralyzing fear she was now feeling.

"Okay, so what do you think we should do, Miss Amateur?"

Bess thought for a moment.

"Okay, here's what we know." She held up her index finger. "One…Frank and Joe are unconscious and obviously drugged."

Emily nodded.

"Two…Nancy has been separated from them and we don't know her location at the moment. But we do know that she's being 'cleansed' in preparation for some perverted sex ritual. Which I do not want to have to see, so we need to come up with a plan before that happens."

Emily made a face. "I agree."

"Three…there are at least two other people here besides Delacroix. The thug with him, and someone else who's with Nancy. Probably another guy, because she would have beaten up a woman."

"Right," Emily said. "So the odds are sucky, but not awful. Unless there are other people hidden somewhere else in this cave that we don't know about."

"That's a possibility."

"I want to get another look at that cavern," Bess said, as she crawled over to the ledge again. "Emily, come here!"

Emily hurried to her side and Bess pointed. "I think Frank's just pretending to be asleep. He opened his eyes when Delacroix turned his back to him."

"That definitely helps us with the odds," Emily whispered.

OOOoooOOO

Frank remained still as Delacroix waved the incense all around him. He couldn't risk opening his eyes even a tiny bit, and that made him nervous.

Delacroix bent over him and ran a finger over his forehead. Something wet and smooth remained. Oil. He was anointing him for something. Most likely his twisted sex ritual. He felt the man at his feet and then felt the zip ties around his ankles being severed.

_Please, oh, please undo the one around my hands._

He waited, but Delacroix did nothing, except continue chanting over him in Latin.

_Well, it's better than nothing,_ Frank thought.

He heard the other monk address Delacroix, and felt the doctor's robes as he brushed past. Frank cautiously opened one eye.

"What are we going to do about him? His girlfriend isn't here."

They were obviously talking about Joe.

"Oh, she will be," Delacroix said. "I have men looking for her now. And when they find her, they will bring her here. She will take part in the ritual as well. She will be purified, then she will atone for her sins by performing the conjugal act here on the altar as part of her repentance."

Frank almost laughed out loud. Delacroix obviously knew nothing about Joe if he thought Emily performing a sex ritual in front of a room full of men was going to happen.

And that was probably for the best. The doctor, in his zealot state of mind, had underestimated them all. That was definitely going to work in their favor.

Frank just had to bide his time.

And then all hell was going to break loose in the doctor's 'holy' shrine.

OOOoooOOO

"Did that lunatic just say I was going to have sex with Joe in public?" Emily hissed.

"Sounded like it," Bess whispered.

"Well, he is very sadly mistaken."

Emily was starting to feel angry. Just who did Delacroix think he was? She was finished with this nut case. Between the doctor and Kathy Martin, she had reached her idiot limit for the week.

And now she was going to do something about it.

A plan began to formulate in her mind, and she smiled.

Bess nudged her. "What are you thinking? You look just like the Grinch before he took off on his sled to ruin Christmas in Whoville."

Emily turned to Bess.

"I think it's time for a vision."

"Oh, Lord."

"Exactly."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy pressed herself against the far wall in the small room, clutching the pitcher.

The door cracked open.

"Sister Simone? It's Brother Henri. Shall I just leave the perfume and the water? I don't want to intrude if the cleansing process has begun."

Nancy remained silent.

"Sister?"

The door opened further and the henchman who'd been there earlier stepped inside. He had a small bucket of water in one hand and a bottle in the other. His back was to her, but Nancy knew he'd seen Simone on the floor.

"Sister Simone, what happened?"

That was the last thing he said, as Nancy brought the pitcher down hard on the back of his head.

The man staggered and dropped the bucket, flooding the room with hot water.

He grunted and spun around.

Anger flashed in his eyes.

Nancy backed away.

He lunged for her.

She shrieked.

Nancy knew she was in trouble now.

He was between her and the door.

OOOoooOOO

"Did you hear that?" Bess whispered. "It sounded like a woman. Actually, it sounded like Nancy."

"It came from somewhere behind us." Emily pointed. "Down that tunnel."

Bess scrambled to her feet.

"She's in trouble. I know that cry."

She reached down and grabbed a large rock from the floor of the cave.

"Come on," she said to Emily. "We don't have time to waste."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy bent over and snatched up the piece of glass she'd used to cut through her restraints earlier.

It was the only thing in this room that could even remotely be considered a weapon.

The man leered at her from the doorway.

"Planning on going somewhere, Miss Drew?"

"Get out of my way," Nancy said, holding the glass out in front of her.

"Oh, I don't think so," the man replied. "You are here to be cleansed. That is an important ritual, and one that I need to be sure is completed."

"Don't you dare come near me."

"Or what?"

The man's jaw was set, and his eyes looked fierce. Nancy gulped. She was going to have to go for his neck with the glass and hoped she could kick him in the groin as well. He was at least six feet tall. That wasn't going to be easy.

"Take your clothes off," the man ordered.

"Go to hell."

"You're making me angry, Miss Drew."

"Like I give a damn."

"Watch your mouth, young lady. Don't you know you're in a holy–"

Nancy watched as the henchman's eyes rolled back in his head. He fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Bess was standing there, a smile on her face and a huge rock in her hand. Emily was right behind her.

"How? What? When did you–" Nancy sputtered.

"No time for that now," Bess said, dusting off her hands. "You grab his arms, Em, and I'll get his legs. We need to get him out of the doorway."

Nancy stood in disbelief while her friends dragged the goon completely inside the tiny room, and Emily closed the wooden door.

Bess looked up at her. "Have anything we can tie these two up with?"

"Um…" Nancy stammered.

"Come on." Bess snapped her fingers. "We have to save Frank and Joe. Delacroix has them drugged in this huge cavern and he's waiting for you to be 'cleansed' so you can have sex with Frank on the altar after he marries the two of you."

That jolted Nancy back into reality. Sex on an altar? That was new. And so not happening.

She began looking around the tiny room and pulled open the cabinet doors under the wash basin. She found a roll of duct tape.

"This should work."

Bess reached for the tape. "I don't even want to know what they do with this."

The three girls quickly tied up both Simone and the thug.

Nancy found a white dress hanging in the corner on a peg. She ripped the material and gagged both of their mouths securely.

"We don't want them shouting for help if they wake up."

Nancy paused and hugged her friends.

"I don't know how you two did this, but I owe you big."

Emily smiled. "You'd do the same for us."

Bess waved her hand in the air. "Let's save the mushy stuff for later. We need to go save your boyfriends' asses right now. They're in some deep crap."

OOOoooOOO

Frank was getting cramps in his legs from consciously trying to hold them still. But he couldn't risk being discovered. He wanted to have his plan in place before the other monk brought Nancy into the shrine. Delacroix had to be neutralized by then.

He watched as the doctor made his way to another altar directly under the Madonna statue. He opened a small marble tabernacle and pulled out the monstrance.

_Bingo_, Frank thought. _Both artifacts right in plain sight. They won't be difficult to recover once Delacroix is taken care of._

He just wished Joe weren't so completely out of it. He could really use his help with this.

The monk approached Dr. Delacroix.

"Shall I go and get dressed now? I'm sure the cleansing ritual is almost nearing completion. Henri has already taken the water and perfume to Sister Simone. Miss Drew should be joining us shortly."

"In a few minutes," Delacroix replied. "We still have time. I want to make sure everything is perfect. Will you please check that the corporal and the pall are situated correctly on the altar, and that the chalice and paten are clean and ready for use?"

"Of course."

Frank watched as the monk adjusted some cloths and dishes on the large stone altar under the Madonna. He wanted to wait until the monk left the room before he went after Delacroix.

He couldn't handle the two of them on his own.

OOOoooOOO

The girls snuck down the tunnel and made their way back to the overlook.

Nancy's heart sank when she saw Frank lying on that stone slab. She turned to Bess.

"He's unconscious. Is he hurt?"

"He's not unconscious," Bess whispered. "I saw him open his eyes. He's faking."

"What about Joe?"

"He's out like a light." Bess touched Nancy on the arm. "Come over here. Emily has a plan."

Nancy wasn't exactly sure what kind of plan Emily could have come up with. Her experience with detective work was almost nil, and she'd never rescued someone who'd been kidnapped before. But since she wasn't sure what to do herself, Nancy was willing to listen.

They moved down the tunnel and huddled together behind a large group of stalagmites.

"Okay, Joe and I learned today that Dr. Delacroix has claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary for years," Emily said. "When he was questioned about them by the priests as part of their investigation, he told them that a strong scent of flowers always fills the air and he sees a bright light. Then he feels the presence of the Virgin."

"So?" Nancy said. "How is that going to help us?"

"I think we can recreate a vision for Dr. Delacroix right now."

Nancy thought for a moment. That just might be what they needed to distract him. Then maybe Frank could sneak up on him and she and Bess could try and get the other thug. The odds were looking a bit more even.

"Em, I think you might have something here."

Emily's eyes sparkled with excitement, and Nancy could tell she was happy to be taken seriously.

"How could we pull off a vision?"

Emily turned to Bess.

"What do you have in your purse?"

"You brought your purse?" Nancy couldn't believe it.

"Of course," Bess said, rolling her eyes. "And you're going to be damn glad I did. I stopped at the duty-free shop in the train station."

She rummaged around inside her bag and pulled out a bottle of perfume.

Emily snatched it from her. "This could be the scent of flowers. The wind on this ledge blows in the direction of the cavern. The perfume would carry right down to the altar."

Bess took the bottle back. "I don't think the Virgin Mary wears Chanel Number Five."

"She does now," Emily said, reaching for the bottle again.

"No, no, it's all wrong for her. Too sexy. She is a virgin, you know." Bess rummaged through her bag again and pulled out another bottle. "Here. Diorissimo. It has a lily of the valley base. Much more suitable for the Madonna."

Nancy rolled her eyes. Someday this conversation would have her laughing at the irony, but not right now.

"Ok, what about the light? How can we do that?"

"Bess, do you have a mirror?" Emily asked.

"Please." Bess reached into her purse and pulled out a compact. "Will this work?"

"I think so." Emily took it and then turned on her flashlight. "If I position the flashlight on those rocks above the ledge, I can reflect the light with the compact and get it to hit right near the Madonna statue. Delacroix won't be able to see the source if I keep the compact behind those stalactites."

Nancy nodded.

"I think Bess and I should position ourselves down in the cavern. I memorized the route that jackass took when he brought me up here to be 'cleansed'. With all the giant stalagmites on the cavern floor, we should be able to find cover fairly easily."

"I think we'd better look for a hiding place from up here," Bess said.

Nancy could tell she was nervous. She didn't blame her. She was nervous herself. But right now, saving Frank and Joe was all that mattered.

"Okay, come over to the ledge with me."

Both girls crept quietly to the overhang and peered up over the rock wall.

Bess grabbed Nancy's arm.

"Look!"

Nancy followed Bess's gaze and saw that both Delacroix and his lackey were drinking from the wine chalice. Gulping from the wine chalice, actually. Nancy smiled. This was only going to make things easier.

"Wonder how long they've been doing that?" Bess asked.

"I'm just hoping it's the mandragora."

"What's mandragora?"

"A hallucinogenic made from the mandrake root. If we're lucky, it'll make them stoned out of their minds."

Bess smiled at her.

"Then that will be the true miracle here."

"I think so, too," Nancy said.

She turned and nodded to Emily, giving her a thumbs-up sign.

"Time to get this show on the road."


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: **Huge thanks to Chelle, Caranath, max2013, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Jackie, Leya, bhar, Vinsmouse, VerityD, and Guest for taking time to review. It is very much appreciated! Thank you also to those who are reading!

Chapter 40

Emily took a deep breath to steady herself while Nancy and Bess headed down the tunnel corridor to reach the main floor of the cavern. She was more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. What if her plan didn't work? What if it made things worse?

She crept to the edge of the overlook and peered around the rocks. What was going on? Delacroix was standing in front of the altar praying in Latin, but something seemed off. He looked unsteady to her.

Emily watched for a moment as the man moved over to Frank. He chanted something, then sprinkled him with what Emily thought was holy water. He moved over to Joe and repeated the gesture.

The monk then handed Delacroix a chalice, and he held it high in the air as he said a prayer, then brought it down to his lips.

Emily smiled. _Bottoms up. _

She reached for the atomizer on Bess's bottle of perfume and squeezed it three times. The scented mist drifted down over the cavern, caught by the wind whistling through the cave. Emily sniffed. It did smell pretty. She sprayed the perfume two more times and waited for Delacroix's reaction.

OOOoooOOO

Frank had been quietly watching while Delacroix and his assistant nearly drained the decanter of mandragora. At least he thought that's what was in it. It was the same decanter the thug used to pour Frank and Joe's drink earlier.

And judging by the speed with which Joe succumbed to it, the stuff was pretty fast acting.

Frank almost smiled.

All he had to do now was wait for these two assholes to get stupid drunk and then he was going to jump them both.

And rescue Nancy.

Frank's stomach turned a little as he thought of how frightened his girlfriend must be right now. He was going to kill that jackass if he so much as put one hand on her.

_Hang on, baby. I'll find you soon._

OOOoooOOO

Nancy had reached the main floor of the cavern through the tunnel where she'd been tied up earlier with Frank and Joe.

She made her way through the maze of stalagmites on the cave floor, with Bess following closely behind her.

Nancy turned to her friend.

"You stay on this side of the cavern," she whispered. "I'm going to sneak around to the other side, so we can come at them from both directions."

She stole a glance at Delacroix, who seemed to be a bit unsteady on his feet.

"He's going to be so smashed in a few minutes, that he won't know what hit him."

Bess nodded. "I'll wait for your signal."

Nancy smiled at her friend, then crept along using the rock formations for cover. She stopped when she was as close as she thought she could get to Frank and still remain hidden.

Her eyes welled up a bit with unwelcome tears when she saw him lying on that stone slab. She quickly brushed them away.

_Don't worry, honey. I'm going to get you out of here as soon as I can._

OOOoooOOO

Emily squeezed the atomizer on Bess's perfume bottle again and watched. Her eyes kept drifting to Joe. He was still unconscious. That terrified her. What if something was wrong? What if he was injured and couldn't wake up?

She was distracted from her worrying, when she noticed Delacroix had paused in his movements in front of the altar, and began sniffing the air around him.

After a moment, the doctor began moving around the altar area, calling out in Latin:

"_Regina, mater misericordiae:_

_Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve._

_Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae."_

He was reciting the _Salve Regina_.

Calling for the Virgin.

Emily squirted even more perfume into the breeze, then sat back and positioned Bess's compact to reflect the light from the flashlight onto the Madonna.

She peeked around the stone ledge and saw Father Delacroix drop to his knees in front of the statue.

He was buying it.

OOOoooOOO

Frank realized something wasn't right.

Dr. Delacroix had stopped the process of readying Frank and Joe for their purification ceremony abruptly. The man was now chanting Latin prayers. They were prayers to the Virgin from what he gathered, but Delacroix's tone had changed. He now sounded slightly panicked.

Frank opened one eye.

Delacroix was prostrate on the ground in front of the statue.

He almost sounded like he was sobbing.

His assistant monk approached him.

"Father? Father, what is going on?"

Dr. Delacroix lifted his head, his eyes focused on the Madonna statue.

"She is here. Look."

Frank glanced up at the statue and saw a beam of light focused on the Virgin's face. Where on earth was that coming from? Was this part of Delacroix's ceremony?

The doctor's assistant stepped backwards. From the look on his face, Frank didn't think the monk knew anything about it. The man seemed frightened.

Delacroix reached backwards and grabbed onto his henchman's robe.

"Can you not feel her presence? Can you not smell the flowers? She is here. Our Lady is here in our midst."

The monk's eyes flitted around the cavern and he swallowed hard.

And then Frank heard it.

A whisper of a female voice.

_Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine,_

_Vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine, cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine._

It was Emily.

OOO

Nancy watched the altar from her hiding place. Emily's voice wafted down into the cavern. Somewhere between a chant and a hymn, soft and ethereal.

_Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine._

_O Jesu dulcis, O Jesu pie, O Jesu, fili Mariae. Miserere mei. Amen. _

Dr. Delacroix released his assistant's robes and again fell to ground, blubbering unintelligibly.

The monk staggered backwards, bumping into a stalagmite. From her hiding place, Nancy could see that he'd paled noticeably. He wiped his brow with the sleeve of his robe, and swallowed hard.

"Henri!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. "Henri, where are you? Come here, now!"

Nancy smiled to herself. That wasn't going to happen. Henri was a bit…tied up…at the moment.

OOO

Frank closed his eyes again as the monk stumbled past him. The guy appeared to be pretty drunk, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

If Emily was here, that meant that Bess probably was as well. So there were at least two people to help him.

Although at this point, he didn't think Delacroix was going to be too much of a threat. Emily's vision of the Virgin, plus the mandragora wine had him completely out of it.

Frank opened his eyes again.

A movement in the shadows beyond the altar caught his eye.

Bess.

Time to make a break for it.

OOOoooOOO

Emily squirted more Diorissimo into the air then chanted the _Ave Verum Corpus _again.

She wasn't sure Delacroix could even hear her at this point.

The drugs in the wine were definitely having an effect on him. He was kneeling on the altar, directly under the statue, praying, singing and pleading for favor from the Madonna.

Emily peeked over the ledge at Delacroix's assistant. He was quaking in his boots. She gasped as a gun slid from the man's robes onto the dirt floor of the cavern. He didn't seem to notice. He started running from the shrine.

Directly toward Nancy's hiding place.

OOO

Nancy braced herself.

The monk was looking backwards at the Madonna statue as he ran. Nancy knew he hadn't seen her.

She positioned herself to strike, but the monk ran straight into a stalagmite. He hit the ground…hard.

Nancy whispered a prayer of thanks. She hurriedly pulled the man's hands behind his back and bound him with the duct tape she'd taken from the room upstairs.

That was too easy.

OOOoooOOO

Frank began to slide himself off the stone slab. Thank heaven Delacroix had tied his hands in front of him, and not behind.

Bess stepped out of the shadows of the altar and waited behind a stalagmite.

Frank caught her eye and held his hands up to his mouth to indicate silence.

Bess gestured toward the gun near the altar table that the monk had let slip out of his robes in his frightened dash from the cavern.

Frank nodded and Bess started creeping toward it.

Frank scanned the cavern. On a ledge overlooking the makeshift cathedral, he saw a familiar face.

Simone.

Her face was covered with blood and she was screaming like a lunatic.

**A/N: **I'm planning to post the next chapter on Saturday (as scheduled), but I am going to an out of town sporting event with my son. I believe the hotel has Wi-Fi, so it shouldn't be a problem, but nothing is ever perfect, so if I run into a snag, I'll post it on Monday...at the latest. Only one chapter and the epilogue after this one! Thanks for your patience. I really appreciate everyone's support throughout this story. You all are amazing!


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: **A million thanks to Caranath, Guest, max2013, zenfrodo, Wendylouwho10, Stork Hardy, Jackie, bhar, Vinsmouse and ILoveMom for reviewing! I love reading what you have to say! And of course, thank you to those reading as well! Only one more chapter after this one.

Chapter 41

Emily was hiding behind a stalactite reflecting light onto the Madonna with Bess's compact, when she heard the commotion.

Simone?

Emily could hardly believe it. How on earth did she get out of the duct tape?

The woman was screaming like a banshee at the edge of the overlook. Emily couldn't even tell if she was wailing in French or English.

Simone's face was bloodied and her eyes were glassy. She was gesticulating wildly toward the cavern.

Clearly…she had lost it.

Emily sneaked along the rock wall, getting as close as she dared, trying to figure out what Simone was saying.

She saw the nun pointing at Frank and Joe.

As Emily got to within four feet of the woman, she finally understood her.

"Tuez-les!"

Kill them.

Emily's heart constricted in her chest.

Simone reached for the pocket of her habit.

Emily saw a flash of metal.

A weapon.

Emily charged.

Slamming into Simone from behind, the two of them fell to the ground.

Simone thrashed and kicked as Emily tried to restrain her.

Where was the weapon?

Emily couldn't see anything and Simone was fighting like a madwoman.

OOOoooOOO

Frank barely had time to get his feet under him before Delacroix spun around to face him.

Frank braced himself, hoping that he could use his body weight to knock the man over and subdue him, since his hands were still tied together in front of him.

Fortunately, the doctor appeared to be under the influence of the mandragora wine, and was stumbling toward Frank, more than running.

Frank sidestepped him neatly, while struggling to remove the zip ties.

He had to get those things off.

He knew he could knock the doctor out with one punch, but not if he couldn't use his hands.

Delacroix stumbled, breathing heavily as he glared at Frank.

"You and your friends are evil sinners! You have polluted this shrine and disturbed the presence of the Virgin. Your being here has desecrated this holy place."

Frank saw Bess snatch up the revolver and turn in Delacroix's direction.

_Don't get too close, Bess. If he takes that gun from you, we're toast._

Frank made sure the doctor was focused on him.

"Dr. Delacroix, if anyone has desecrated this mock shrine, it would be you. You've stolen property belonging to another church, kidnapped three people, threatened us with bodily harm and drugged us with poisoned wine." Frank kept his eyes on the doctor's face. "I'm pretty sure you broke at least half of the ten commandments just in the past hour alone."

Dr. Delacroix's eyes bored into Frank.

"You are trying to thwart the will of the Holy Virgin. Anything I do in response to that is justified. She will not be mocked!"

OOOoooOOO

Nancy didn't know what to do. She'd seen Simone screaming on the ledge, and saw Emily tackle the woman. She'd obviously made some sort of threat or Emily never would have done that.

And now Frank was facing Delacroix.

How was he going to take him out with his hands tied together?

Bess was there too, but…

Nancy bit her lip.

She had to go where she was needed most.

She slipped down the tunnel and headed in the direction of the ledge.

OOOoooOOO

Frank watched as Bess sneaked into position behind Delacroix, holding the gun in both hands and aiming it at the back of his head.

"Really?" Bess asked. "Because we're kind of sure the Virgin's on our side in this."

Dr. Delacroix's jaw dropped, and he turned away from Frank to face Bess.

_You just made your fatal mistake, jackass. _Frank stepped closer to the man, ready to spring for him.

The doctor staggered in Bess's direction.

Frank charged, striking the man square in his back.

Delacroix fell to the floor on his hands and knees and started to scramble away.

Bess moved in closer, releasing the safety on the weapon.

"Go ahead. I dare you."

Frank smiled. Bess was clearly enjoying this.

Delacroix looked around wildly then started crawling toward a nearby tunnel.

Bess fired the weapon into the air.

The doctor stopped immediately and lay flat on the ground.

"That was the only warning you'll get from me," Bess said.

_Holy shit_, Frank thought. _She actually knows how to use that gun._

"You'd better do what the lady says, Doctor," Frank ordered. "Stay down and keep your hands where we can see them."

OOOoooOOO

Emily ducked to avoid Simone's flailing arms.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Simone's eyes were flashing with anger and her jaw was tight. Blood was running down her face from her nose and a large gash on her forehead.

"You have ruined everything!" Simone screamed. "Everything!"

Yep. Another insanity case.

Simone reached for Emily with her hands, clawing at her clothes, her arms, and her face.

"Get a grip!" Emily shouted. "You are out of control."

"You and your friends must pay the price for what you've done. You must pay!"

Emily looked at Simone's eyes, and the intense loathing she saw there chilled her to the bone.

Simone suddenly went still. "You are a vile whore who has desecrated the sanctity of the shrine of the Virgin. You will not be allowed to leave here."

"I beg to differ," Emily grated out, her muscles tense and shaking as she tried to keep Simone at arm's length.

This woman wanted to kill her.

She shoved hard against Emily.

Emily held her ground, but she was bone tired. Her injured shoulder muscle was on the verge of giving out completely.

Simone shoved her again.

Where was this woman getting her strength?

The drugs. It had to be the drugs.

Emily tried to sidestep her.

The nun reached out and grabbed Emily, twisting her arm behind her.

"See your poor boyfriend down there?" she hissed in Emily's ear. "I'll bet you miss him."

She gave Emily another shove toward the overlook.

"Let's get you down there with him. The fast way. Right over the ledge."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy hurried through the tunnel. She'd heard Simone screaming almost the entire way, but now everything had gone quiet.

Deathly quiet.

Nancy slowed her pace.

She didn't want to alert Simone to her presence.

Exiting the tunnel, she moved into the open area where the overlook was.

She slipped behind a stalagmite to assess the situation.

Nancy saw Emily struggling as Simone struck out at her. The nun slapped Emily hard across the face.

Emily responded by grabbing onto the veil of Simone's habit and yanking it off her head.

That seemed to enrage Simone, who screamed and pushed Emily toward the overlook.

She was trying to throw Emily off the ledge.

Simone reached forward and scratched Emily across the cheek, then grabbed a handful of Emily's long hair and pulled hard.

Nancy rushed up and grabbed the woman from behind.

"I am sick of you. Do you hear me? Sick. Of. You," Nancy said.

Simone gasped and let go of Emily.

Nancy twisted Simone's arms behind her back and the woman's knees buckled.

"I have had enough of nutso people to last me the rest of my life," Nancy said. "If justice is really served on this case, the courts will throw you, Kathy Martin, Delacroix, and whatever other crazies are involved in this scheme into the same padded cell for the next twenty-five years."

Emily stepped away from the overlook and daubed at the blood on her face with the edge of her shirt. Her hair was a mess, her faced looked like a cat had attacked her, and her clothes were torn. But she seemed relieved. She smiled at Nancy.

"Sounds good to me."

Nancy dragged Simone away from the overlook. "We need to tie her up again. What can we use?"

"Bess left her magic carpetbag up here. Let's see if she has anything."

Nancy could see Emily's hands were shaking as she dragged Bess's oversized purse across the dirt floor of the cavern. Bess's Gucci purse. Good thing Bess was down in the cavern.

Emily rummaged inside and pulled out a scarf. "Will this work?"

"Yeah. Let's tie her hands behind her back and then we can drag her to the cavern. The roll of duct tape is down there."

"She has a weapon in her pocket. I don't know what it is."

"Let me get her hands tied together first, and then we'll check."

Simone spit on Emily as she leaned forward to hand Nancy the scarf.

Emily slapped her across the face.

"Anymore crap like that from you, and I will knock your teeth out."

Nancy smiled.

Sweet, gentle, Emily had just become a true detective.

Joe was going to freak.

OOOoooOOO

Bess quickly trussed Dr. Delacroix with the duct tape, and left him in the middle of the cavern floor.

Frank rested his hands on Bess's shoulder. "Can you stay here and keep that gun on him? I need to find Nancy. One of his goons took her away for some sicko cleansing ritual."

"We already rescued her," Bess said. "She wasn't hurt."

Frank blinked. "You rescued her?"

"Hello? I watch _Charlie's Angels_ every week. I know what I'm doing."

Frank couldn't help chuckling. She was holding the gun exactly the same way as the actresses on the show did. Leave it to Bess.

"Frank?" Nancy called out from the overlook. "We're up here. We have Simone. Take that first tunnel on your left. It'll lead you straight to us."

"Stay here, Bess," Frank said.

He hurried through the tunnel as fast as he could, but holding his legs in the same position for an hour had made his injured thigh muscle stiff and painful. He found himself limping before he made it to the next level of the cave.

As soon as Nancy saw him, she ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, thank heaven you're all right. I was so worried."

Before Frank could respond, Nancy kissed him full on the mouth, with an intensity that took his breath away.

Emily's voice cut through the haze.

"Is Joe okay?"

Frank broke away from Nancy for a moment. "He's unconscious. He swallowed too much of the wine, but he isn't hurt."

He held out his hands. "Do either of you have anything you can use to remove these? They're cutting off my circulation."

"Simone does," Emily said, coming over to him and holding up a substantial knife. "It's how she got out of her duct tape."

Frank held his hands out, and Emily quickly cut through the plastic ties.

He grimaced as he flexed and rubbed his hands, trying to ease the soreness.

"What happened to the SOB that grabbed you?" he asked Nancy.

"He's in a room in this tunnel." She pointed behind her. "He's still unconscious, so Simone didn't bother to cut through his duct tape. Thank goodness."

Frank reached out and pulled Nancy into him. "I was going out of my mind worrying about you." He kissed the side of her head. "Did he touch you? Did he hurt you? Because if he did, I'll go down there right now and make him sorry he was ever born."

"No. I'm fine. There was no way I was going to let him hurt me."

Frank squeezed her tight. "Geez, babe, you didn't need me on this case at all. You, Emily, and Bess neutralized everyone."

Nancy gave him a smug smile. "So are you going to stop doubting my ability to take care of myself now? And will you quit being so overprotective?"

Frank chuckled. "I never doubted your ability. And no…I won't stop being protective. It's who I am."

Nancy patted his chest. "Good thing I love you just the way you are, Frank Hardy."

"Good thing," he said, kissing her soundly.

Emily interrupted them. "I'm going down to the cavern. I need to be with Joe."

Frank nodded. "Go ahead. We'll follow you and bring Simone with us."

OOOoooOOO

Emily hurried into the cavern, past Bess, who was still holding the weapon on a tied up Dr. Delacroix, and rushed over to Joe.

She bent down next to the slab he was resting on and brushed his hair away from his face as she kissed his forehead.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Joe stirred.

Emily's heart leapt to her throat. "Joe? Honey, wake up. Please."

Joe blinked.

Emily breathed out a sigh of relief.

He opened and closed his eyes twice. "Em?"

She couldn't help the sob that escaped her. "Yes, it's me. Are you all right?"

"Yeah." He reached up and touched her cheek. "But you're not. What happened?"

Emily shrugged. "Just a little tussle with Simone. But don't worry. I won."

Joe struggled to swing his legs off the altar, but he couldn't seem to coordinate his movements. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You slept through the whole thing," Emily teased, as she helped him into a sitting position, then cut through the ties around his wrists. "You missed all the fun."

"Oh, yeah," Bess called out. "It was a blast. Fighting, staging a vision of the Virgin Mary, rescuing Nancy, Simone doing the best _Carrie_ impression I've ever seen, saving your asses…quite a busy day."

Frank and Nancy entered the cavern, dragging Simone between them. They deposited her against a stalagmite and Frank stepped over to his brother with a big grin on his face.

"It was amazing, Joe. The girls rescued us. And they managed to capture most of the bad guys by themselves. They even captured Simone twice."

Joe giggled. "Wow, I'm hearing a lot of words, but none of them are making sense."

"He's drunk," Bess said.

"Just a little bit." Joe held up his forefinger and thumb.

"See if this makes it any clearer." Frank grinned as he put his arms around Nancy and Bess. "Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the Police Academy. Two in River Heights, and one in Bayport. And they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that. And now they work for me. My name is Charlie."

Joe blinked. "Bess, Nancy and Emily are really _Charlie's Angels_?"

"I'm Farrah," Bess announced, tossing her hair. "And Em is Jaclyn Smith and Nancy is Kate Jackson."

Joe giggled again. "Em can't be Jaclyn Smith."

"Why not?" Emily asked. "She's my favorite."

"Because," Joe said. "Frank kissed Jaclyn Smith. So that's not going to work if you're Jaclyn Smith, is it?"

Nancy stared at Frank. "What on earth is he talking about?"

"I have no idea," Frank said. "Must be the mandragora."

"Pffft," Joe waved his hand in the air. "You kissed her, Frank. You told me all about it. Well, I guess she kissed you, didn't she? And then you told her you wanted to discuss spending the rest of your life with her."

"Now I know it's the mandragora," Frank said.

Nancy crossed her arms. "I'm not so sure. I think I may have another mystery I need to get to the bottom of."

Emily smiled. It sure sounded like there was a story there. And as soon as Joe was sober, she was going to get it out of him.

Bess handed Frank the gun. "Here. I've had enough fun with this today."

Frank grinned at her. "I had no idea you knew how to shoot, Bess."

Bess rolled her eyes. "Please. My best friend is Nancy Drew. I'd be an idiot not to know how to handle a weapon. She can get into trouble on a quick trip to the mall."

"Now that's an exaggeration," Nancy said.

"I wish it were." Bess's eyes widened as she looked at Simone. "What did you tie her up with?"

"Um, just a scarf I found in your purse," Nancy said.

"That is not 'just a scarf.' That is an Hermes scarf. Are you nuts?" Bess ran over to Simone and reached for her hands. "If she got blood on this, I swear I'll kill you. I need to get this off her now."

Shouts echoed from one of the tunnel corridors. Frank shooed the girls behind some stalagmites and hurried to get Joe on his feet.

"Arretez!" called a police officer entering the cavern with his weapon drawn.

His partner appeared next to him, with his gun extended as well.

_Better late than never_, Emily thought as she stepped out and spoke in French, providing the barest of explanations for what had happened.

The officers lowered their weapons.

Father François appeared behind them and hurried toward Emily.

She smiled at him. "Father, we found her. We found the Madonna."

Relief washed over Father François's features, as Emily led him over to the statue.

"I'll phone the monastery at St. Sylvie immediately. They will be so pleased to know she is safe."

OOOoooOOO

Frank pulled Nancy into his arms as they waited in the cavern for the police to take their statements. He was so relieved to have her safe and unhurt. The worry he'd felt when Delacroix's goon had taken her away had been almost paralyzing. He hugged her close and made sure his voice was steady before he spoke.

"Well, it looks like we've wrapped up both of our cases in the past twenty-four hours."

Nancy sighed as she snuggled into his embrace. "And I can't thank you enough for your help."

"My help? You saved _me_, babe." Frank kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for that."

"And you rescued me from a dungeon last week. I'd say we're even on this case."

"How about we both stay out of situations where we need to be rescued for a while?" He glanced over at Delacroix, who was being dragged out of the cavern by the police. "I could use a break."

"Me, too." Nancy smiled up at him. "What would you say to a little vacation? Right here in our cabin."

Frank grinned at her. "I'm with you on that one. And honestly, I think Senator Martin could be persuaded to pick up the tab for it."

"If he knows what's good for him. I mean, we have Bess as a witness to everything his daughter did. And if Senator Martin doesn't want the whole world knowing by tomorrow morning…"

Frank laughed as he glanced at Bess flirting with the French police officers.

"Yeah, I'm betting we have an all-expense paid two week vacation in Europe coming right up."

"And I can't wait." Nancy squeezed him tightly. "Now about Jaclyn Smith…"


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: **As always, a huge thank you to max2013, Jackie, Caranath, Kenna, VerityD, Vinsmouse, bhar, zenfrodo and Lady Emily for the reviews! This is the last chapter. Finally! Thanks so much for all the support, comments, PMs, and kind words I've received while posting this. I truly appreciate it. And another big thank you to Kenna for being an amazing beta! This story would never have seen the light of day without her. You rock, Kenna! I do have another story in my little series coming up, but it won't be for several more months yet. I always want to have them completely written before I start posting. Hopefully some time in August. Again, THANK YOU to those who took the time to leave reviews for me! I know that's not convenient to do, but I am so grateful for your comments. And now, back to the story. :-)

Epilogue

Frank reached for a mug of hot chocolate from the four Emily set on the kitchen table in her and Joe's cabin.

"Well, this has been an interesting day."

"My brother, the master of understatement," Joe said, taking a sip from his own mug.

"How would you know?" Nancy teased. "You were unconscious through most of it."

"And after hearing about the scheme you two and Bess pulled off, I'm glad I was." Joe squeezed Emily's hand. "Because watching that unfold would have given me a heart attack."

Emily rolled her eyes as she put a dollop of whipped cream into Joe's mug.

"Watching that would have proved to you that I am just as capable as anyone else of helping to solve a case."

"I don't want to go there right now," Joe said. "I just keep thinking of everything that could have gone wrong."

"Yeah," Frank agreed. His heart still jumped to his throat every time he thought of Nancy attacking that goon with a pitcher. "Let's talk about something else. Did Bess get to the station in time for her train?"

Nancy smirked. "Yes. The police officer she was flirting up a storm with drove her into town with his vehicle lights flashing so she wouldn't be late."

"I'm guessing she didn't tell him she was traveling to see another man," Frank said.

"Of course not." Nancy smiled. "Bess likes to hedge her bets. You know, in case something goes wrong with one boyfriend, she has a spare."

"I have never seen anybody operate the way Bess does," Emily said. "I wish I could have taken lessons from her when I was a teenager."

"Uh…no," Joe said. "Bess may look like she's having fun, but it can actually be a very lonely life."

Frank grinned at his brother. "Spoken like someone who used to be the male equivalent of Bess Marvin."

Emily leaned in and hugged her boyfriend. "I'm so glad you never pulled any of that stuff with me."

"I never wanted to."

And Frank didn't want this to turn sappy. Joe was still slightly buzzed from Delacroix's cocktail, and he tended to get a bit maudlin when he was drunk. Time to change the conversation again.

"Hey, I heard from Senator Martin right after we got back here. He left a message at the reservations office for me to call him."

"And?" Nancy asked.

"And he's picking up the tab for our vacation. He insisted. One week here to relax and recover, and then one week in Paris."

Emily squealed and bounced up and down in her chair. "My favorite city on earth! Oh, we're going to have so much fun. Can I plan the itinerary? Please?"

Frank watched as her eyes twinkled with excitement. "Sure. I know you'll do a great job."

"As long as we're not spending the whole week inside the Louvre," Joe said. "All museums and no play makes Joe a dull boy."

"And a cranky one," Emily teased. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of playtime."

Joe's grin was lascivious, and Frank hurried to change the subject for the third time, before his brother said something wildly inappropriate in front of Nancy. Joe had no filter when he was drunk.

"So, Kathy is in a psychiatric hospital in Geneva for the next few weeks. Then her father wants to keep her at their home in Paris with a private doctor," Frank explained. "He doesn't want any of this released to the press…for obvious reasons, and I agreed. There's no sense in destroying her reputation. She's only eighteen, and her doctors assured the senator that with the right kind of love and attention from her family, she could make a full recovery."

"Does that mean she won't feel the need to kidnap people anymore?" Emily asked.

"I hope so," Frank replied. "Senator Martin assured me that Joe would never hear from Kathy again. And he's given Joe, me, and Louis large enough bonuses to make up for the trouble she caused us.'"

"Smart man," Nancy said. "Hopefully Louis uses his money to check into a detox center."

Frank laughed. "The senator might need that himself after he hears about Simone. I'm not sure he can stop that from leaking to the press, but the story should distract the reporters from Kathy, so maybe he'll welcome it."

"Why not?" Nancy asked. "It's not his scandal, he's just collateral damage."

"I'm not really worried about Senator Martin," Emily chimed in. "I'm pretty sure he can handle all this. I'm just glad that the monastery has their artifacts back."

"Where is the Madonna right now?" Frank asked.

"She's in the rectory, here in town," Emily replied. "The church is sending someone from its art preservation team in Rome to come and examine her and the monstrance and make sure there's been no damage to either of them. Then they'll transport them back to the monastery. Just in time for the pilgrims' arrival."

"And I can't tell you how relieved I am that we found the Madonna before that," Nancy said. "I was really starting to get worried."

"You had no reason to be," Frank said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "You're an incredible detective."

"I'm pretty sure that finding those artifacts was all due to my incredible partner."

Nancy leaned into him and kissed his neck. Frank felt his temperature rising. He wanted to take her back to their cabin and toss her into bed. Now.

"So," Frank cleared his throat, poised to make a quick exit. "I guess you two probably want to be alone."

Joe chuckled. "You are so smooth, Frank. Seriously, I'm jealous."

Frank knew his face was turning red, but he was determined to maintain his dignity.

"You and Emily don't want to be alone?"

Emily smiled. "We love spending time with you and Nancy. But I also know that you two haven't spent nearly enough time with each other over the past two weeks, so my advice is to go back to your cabin and stay there until it's time for us to leave for Paris."

"I think you're absolutely right," Nancy said. "You have a very smart girlfriend, Joe."

Joe put his arm around Emily and kissed the side of her head. "Don't think I don't know it. Besides, we'll have plenty to do. Look at all the board games they stocked these cabins with."

Frank turned in the direction Joe was pointing and laughed. "Don't even pretend you're going to spend the evening playing Scrabble, Twister and Yahtzee."

"That's exactly what we're going to do." Joe grinned. "We just don't play with the standard rules."

Emily giggled and swatted at her boyfriend. "Joe, stop."

"I'm just making their evening more fun for them," Joe said.

"Do I even want to know what you mean by that?"

Frank wasn't sure. Part of him was curious, but knowing his brother…

"Of course you do." Joe took a sip of his cocoa. "It's easy. Scrabble is 'dirty word only Scrabble'. Yahtzee is 'strip Yahtzee'. And Twister is the most fun…because you play naked."

"Naked Twister?" Nancy asked. "Who spins the spinner for you? Please don't tell me there are more than the two of you playing this."

"No," Emily spoke up quickly.

"You don't need a spinner. Just call out something. Left hand blue. Right foot green," Joe explained. "It works great."

"Well," Frank said, now knowing that his face was bright red. "That was enlightening. We're going to head back to our cabin. Because I now know more about your sex life than I ever wanted to, bro."

"You'll thank me tomorrow," Joe assured him.

"We don't have Twister in our cabin. I saw Monopoly, Parcheesi, and Sorry, so all of that personal info was a moot point anyhow."

Frank stood and hurried Nancy to the door. He was going to need a bottle of brain bleach to get the image of Joe and Emily playing Twister naked out of his head. Or maybe some mandrogora wine. He wondered if there was any left in the cave.

"Quit being such a prude, Frank," Joe called out.

"Oh, he's not a prude," Nancy assured him. "He's quite adventurous about sex. He's just private about it."

Frank stared at Nancy. She was making things worse.

"I thought so," Emily said. "That's why Bess wanted to get you two together, you know. She said she could see it in Frank's eyes."

Okay, that was it. Now Emily was making comments on his sexual prowess?

"Later, guys," Frank said, as he opened the door. "Much, much, later."

Nancy followed him out into the snow and slipped underneath his arm.

"They were just teasing, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

Frank took a deep breath of the cold air and looked up into the now darkening sky. Stars were everywhere. Brighter here than in the city, and he stopped to appreciate the sight.

"It's a beautiful night."

"It is," Nancy agreed. "And I'm so glad we get to have a whole week together here."

"And if you don't mind, I really don't want to spend any of it with my brother."

Nancy laughed. "I don't mind."

She shivered against him and Frank pulled her close.

"Let's get you inside our cabin and warm you up."

"Now that sounds promising," Nancy teased as they reached the front door.

They stepped inside, and Frank headed to the fireplace.

"How does a nice roaring fire sound?"

"Perfect." Nancy strolled past him. "I'll just change into something more…comfortable."

Frank smiled as he placed some logs on the iron grate. He piled some kindling on top of the logs and some newspaper underneath. He was reaching for the matches, when a knock sounded on the door.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me," he muttered, as he went to answer it.

He threw open the door…but nobody was there.

Puzzled Frank went to step outside, but almost tripped over a box lying on the doormat.

He bent to pick it up.

A Twister game.

He shook his head and laughed, then brought it into the cabin and closed the door. His brother was a total butt head.

He set the game on the kitchen table then moved to the fireplace and started the fire.

Stepping back to admire his handy work, the game box caught his eye again.

Picking it up, Frank grinned.

"Hey, Nan, come here."

THE END


End file.
